These 9 candidates for governor made history in the 2026 election

Voters on Tuesday elected the nation's first Black woman governor and the nation's first Native American woman governor.

<img src='https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4500x3000+0+0/resize/4500x3000!/quality/85/format/webp/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fa2%2Fed%2F9e9681e74730b88cc90e795fe0b6%2Fmdt26-govs.png' alt='Georgia Gov.-elect Keisha Lance Bottoms (left), New Mexico Gov.-elect Deb Haaland and Florida Republican Gov.-elect Byron Donalds all made history. Lance Bottoms is the first Black woman elected governor, Haaland will be the first Native American woman governor and Donalds will be the first Black governor in Florida.'/><p>Voters on Tuesday elected the nation's first Black woman governor and the nation's first Native American woman governor. </p><p>(Image credit: Brynn Anderson/AP, Sam Wasson/Getty Images, Jacquelyn Martin/AP)</p><img src='https://media.npr.org/include/images/tracking/npr-rss-pixel.png?story=nx-s1-6028546' />