Democratic governors are set to lead a majority of states after the November 3 midterms, with the party winning five Republican-held governor’s offices. The gains span Georgia, Iowa, Nevada, Ohio and Texas, according to updated reporting from Stateline and NBC News.
Stateline’s count as of 10 a.m. Eastern on November 4 put Democrats on course to hold 28 governorships and Republicans 20. Alaska and Kansas remained uncalled in that snapshot, so those figures were not a completed national tally.
The results support a broad story of Democratic gains across the country. They do not support treating a graphic labeled with Electoral College votes as a count of governor’s seats.
Where Democratic governors gained ground
In Texas, Democrat Gina Hinojosa defeated Republican Governor Greg Abbott, according to The Associated Press. She will become the state’s first Latina governor and its first Democratic governor since Ann Richards held the office in the 1990s.
Abbott conceded and said he had called Hinojosa and offered help with her transition, AP reported. The result ended his effort to secure a fourth term.
In Georgia, former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms defeated Republican Rick Jackson in the contest to succeed Governor Brian Kemp. Reuters reported that Bottoms became the first Black woman elected governor in the United States.
Democrat Rob Sand won Iowa’s governor race against Republican Zach Lahn, while Amy Acton defeated Vivek Ramaswamy in Ohio. Those victories added two more Republican-held offices to the Democratic column.
Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford also defeated Republican Governor Joe Lombardo, according to AP and NBC News. That result made Nevada the fifth Republican-held governorship to change parties in the reported count.
Victories reached beyond the five flips
Democrats also won races in states where their party already controlled the governor’s office. In California, Xavier Becerra won the contest to succeed fellow Democrat Gavin Newsom, according to Governing’s election roundup.
The same report identified Phil Weiser as the winner in Colorado, where he will succeed Democrat Jared Polis. Those victories are holds rather than flips because the party controlling the office does not change.
That distinction is important when describing Democratic governors’ national position. A party can win many races while gaining fewer offices overall, and some sitting governors were not on the ballot this year.
Why the shared map needs correction
The circulating graphic displays 392 votes for Democrats and 146 for Republicans. Those numbers total 538, and its state labels include 54 for California and 40 for Texas.
These are Electoral College allocations, not numbers of governors. The National Archives’ official allocation table lists 538 electoral votes nationwide and a 270-vote majority required to elect a president.
The District of Columbia also appears on the graphic with three electoral votes; it is not one of the 50 states.
The graphic’s 270-to-win marker reinforces that distinction. A governor-results map should count individual offices and identify which states held elections, rather than use presidential electoral-vote totals.
The image alone does not establish who created its state-by-state selections or whether those colors represent verified governor results. It should not be used to report a 392-to-146 Democratic victory in governorships.
What happens before the winners take office
Governor races determine state executive leadership, not control of Congress. The National Governors Association explains that governors’ powers vary by state, including their roles in budgets, administration and legislation.
A victory for Democratic governors also does not automatically give their party control of each state legislature. Those chambers have their own elections and must be assessed separately.
The next formal steps are the remaining ballot counts, canvasses and certification under state law. The U.S. Election Assistance Commission explains that reported results remain unofficial until certification.
