The 2026 midterm elections produced a sweeping political shake-up, with Democrats emerging in control of both chambers of Congress. Keisha Lance Bottoms, Cyril Jefferson and James Talarico were among those making headlines as historic races turned into victories. But alongside the national party shift came another significant development: Black candidates secured landmark victories across the country.
Several contests also resulted in Democrats taking seats previously controlled by Republicans. Here are the major flips reported by the Associated Press.
Cyril Jefferson
High Point, NC, Mayor Cyril Jefferson defeated Republican incumbent Addison McDowell to flip the district McDowell once carried by more than 38 points in 2024. His election to the U.S. House of Representatives marks a significant change in the district’s congressional representation.
Sean McCann
Western Michigan saw a historic change as Democrat Sean McCann defeated eight-term Republican incumbent Bill Huizenga to represent Michigan in the U.S. House. His win puts the district in Democratic hands for the first time in nearly 100 years, adding another longtime Republican seat to the Democratic column.
Lakesha Womack
North Carolina saw a major political shift as Democrat Lakesha Womack unseated Republican incumbent Tim Moore, capturing 51.1% of the vote. After Moore won the district by roughly 16 points in 2024, Womack’s victory turned a previously Republican-held seat in the U.S. House blue and changed the district’s political landscape.
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J.D. Ford
Indiana’s 5th District delivered one of election night’s surprises. Democrat J.D. Ford defeated Republican incumbent Victoria Spartz, who had won reelection by more than 18 points in 2024. It was a major turnaround in a district Republicans expected to hold.
Keisha Lance Bottoms
Georgia just elected Keisha Lance Bottoms as its first Black governor and the first Black woman governor in American history. Her victory ended nearly three decades of Republican control in the statehouse. More than a simple party flip, it marked a historic, barrier-breaking milestone in U.S. politics.
Gina Hinojosa
Gina Hinojosa defeated three-term Republican Greg Abbott, becoming Texas’ first Latina governor and the first Democrat elected governor since Ann Richards in 1990. In a state Republicans had dominated for decades, this was a generational political shift and a historic breakthrough for Latina representation.
Aaron Ford
Aaron Ford defeated Republican incumbent Joe Lombardo, becoming Nevada’s first Black governor. His victory added another Black governor to the nation’s political landscape and flipped a Republican-held governorship. The significance extends beyond Nevada: Black political leadership is no longer an exception in gubernatorial politics.
Josh Turek
Josh Turek defeated Republican Ashley Hinson, flipping Iowa’s open Senate seat. A former Paralympic basketball player, Turek becomes the first former Paralympian elected to the U.S. Senate. Iowa also elected a Democratic senator for the first time since 2008.
David Crowley
Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley made history as Wisconsin’s first Black governor. His win flipped the Republican-held office and placed a Black executive at the helm of a critical presidential battleground state. Representation and political geography collided in one consequential victory.
Amy Acton
Amy Acton defeated Republican Vivek Ramaswamy, becoming Ohio’s first Democratic governor since 2006. Her victory ends two decades of Republican gubernatorial control and gives Democrats another major Midwestern governorship. It’s a significant reversal in a state that has moved toward Republicans in recent presidential elections.
Troy Jackson
Troy Jackson defeated longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins, ending her decades-long Senate career and flipping a seat Democrats had not won since 1988. The result is particularly significant because Collins had repeatedly survived Democratic challenges in a state that votes Democratic in presidential elections.
Adam Hamilton
Adam Hamilton defeated incumbent Republican Roger Marshall, making history in a state that had not elected a Democratic U.S. senator since 1932. That’s nearly a century of Republican dominance in Kansas’ Senate representation interrupted by one election.
James Talarico
James Talarico defeated Republican Ken Paxton, giving Texas Democrats their first Senate victory since 1988. He also became part of a broader Democratic breakthrough in statewide Texas politics, alongside Gina Hinojosa’s gubernatorial victory. Two statewide victories in one election fundamentally changed the state’s political narrative.
Roy Cooper
Former governor Roy Cooper defeated Republican Michael Whatley to claim North Carolina’s open Senate seat. Democrats hadn’t won a Senate race in the state since 2008, or an open Senate seat since 1974. That’s a 52-year drought for open-seat victories finally ending.
Annie Andrews
Dr. Annie Andrews defeated Darline Graham, flipping a South Carolina Senate seat held by Republicans since Strom Thurmond switched parties in 1964. She also becomes the first woman elected to represent South Carolina in the U.S. Senate. A remarkable breakthrough in one of the South’s most reliably Republican states.
Sherrod Brown
Sherrod Brown defeated Republican Jon Husted, reclaiming an Ohio Senate seat after losing his previous reelection bid in 2024. The former senator’s return flips a Republican-held seat and restores a familiar Democratic figure to Washington. A comeback with real consequences for Senate control.
Penny Brown Reynolds
Penny Brown Reynolds defeated Republican Tim Fleming, becoming Georgia’s first Black secretary of state and the first Democrat to hold the office in nearly 20 years. A former judge and Biden administration official, Reynolds’ victory marks a historic breakthrough for Black women in statewide elected leadership.
