Tuesday night was a big one for women in power. Six women won governor’s races across the country, and every one of them made history in her state. Leading the way: Atlanta’s own Keisha Lance Bottoms.
The Women Who Won
Keisha Lance Bottoms, Georgia (D). Atlanta’s former mayor defeated Republican Rick Jackson to become the first Black woman ever elected governor of any U.S. state. She’s also the first Democrat to win Georgia’s governor’s race in more than two decades. We have the full story on her historic win here.
Deb Haaland, New Mexico (D). The former U.S. Interior Secretary defeated Republican Gregg Hull and will be the first Native American woman to serve as governor. That adds to a list of firsts: she was one of the first Native American women elected to Congress and the first Native American cabinet secretary.
Gina Hinojosa, Texas (D). The state representative from Austin unseated incumbent Republican Gov. Greg Abbott. She becomes the first Latina governor of Texas and the state’s first Democratic governor in more than 30 years.
Dr. Amy Acton, Ohio (D). In one of the night’s bigger upsets, according to NPR, Ohio’s former state health director defeated Republican Vivek Ramaswamy. She is set to become the first woman elected governor of Ohio and the state’s first Jewish governor.
Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota (D). The longtime U.S. senator defeated Republican Lisa Demuth, Speaker of the Minnesota House. When she takes office in January, she’ll be the first woman to serve as Minnesota’s governor.
Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee (R). The Republican U.S. senator defeated Democrat Jerri Green and several independents to become the first woman to win a governor’s race in Tennessee. NPR noted her margin was narrower than expected.
A Night of Firsts, Across Party Lines
Five of these winners are Democrats and one is a Republican, but the theme is the same: states that had never elected a woman, or a woman of color, to their top office finally did. Some results were still being finalized Wednesday morning, so we’ll update if anything changes.
Why it matters: Representation at the top shapes everything from school budgets to health care to how communities like ours get treated. Seeing a Black woman, a Native woman and a Latina all win statehouses on the same night is a moment our daughters will read about. For Atlanta, it started right here, with the energy you saw when Obama rallied in Morrow just days before the vote.
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