00:02The Democratic wins extended well beyond Congress. Five states flipped their governorships from red
00:08to blue. Georgia, Iowa, Nevada, Ohio, and Texas all elected Democratic governors,
00:14ending years of Republican control. In Georgia, former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms becomes
00:19the first black woman ever elected governor in the United States. She's also the first Democrat to
00:24win Georgia's governorship in more than two decades. Georgia, we sent a message loud and clear
00:32that we want a leader who will put Georgia first and who will stand up to all the chaos coming
00:41out
00:41of Washington, D.C. But even more importantly, you sent the message that in these times of division
00:51and acrimony, you believe in something foundational, and that is hope.
00:58And in Texas, one of the night's biggest upsets, Democrat Gina Hinojosa defeated three-term Republican
01:04Governor Greg Abbott, ending more than three decades of GOP control of the governor's mansion.
01:09Hinojosa won nearly 53 percent of the vote, becoming Texas's first Latina governor,
01:14and she did it by unseating one of the country's most prominent Republican governors
01:18and a longtime Trump ally. In her victory speech, Hinojosa had a direct message for the people
01:24who've been running Texas. And I want to say something
01:27to the powerful people who have gotten very comfortable running this state.
01:35The voters have delivered a mandate for change, and it is change they will get.
01:44And President Trump didn't spare Abbott after the loss. In a social media post, Trump blamed the
01:49governor for his own defeat, accusing him of becoming a rhino, Republican in name only,
01:54over the past six months. In Ohio, another big win for Democrats. Former state health
02:00director Amy Acton defeated Trump-backed Republican Vivek Ramaswamy in the race for governor.
02:05Acton won about 52 percent of the vote, defeating the billionaire entrepreneur and former presidential
02:10candidate. She campaigned heavily on the cost of living, and in her victory speech, said Ohioans
02:16are working harder than ever, but still struggling to get ahead. She promised to make life more
02:21affordable, regardless of party. But the campaign also took a deeply personal turn.
02:26Ramaswamy faced bipartisan backlash over an attack ad featuring Acton's estranged mother,
02:32who accused her daughter of lying about her past. The two have been estranged for nearly 50 years.
02:37Ramaswamy defended the ad, but it was eventually pulled from the air.
02:41Acton now becomes Ohio's first female governor and the first Democrat elected to the office in 20 years.
02:48In Iowa, Democrats have won the governor's race for the first time in 20 years.
02:53State auditor Rob Sand defeated Republican Zach Lawn, winning more than 55 percent of the vote.
02:58Lawn had the backing of President Trump and the Make America Healthy Again movement.
03:02But this is a state Trump won all three times he was on the ballot, including by more than 13
03:08points
03:09in 2024. And Sand, he was already the only Democrat holding statewide office in Iowa.
03:15Now he's headed to the governor's mansion, ending nearly 16 years of Republican control.
03:20He'll still have to work with a Republican-controlled state legislature.
03:25Republicans did have some wins last night, though. In Florida, Trump-backed Republican Byron Donalds
03:30defeated Democrat David Jolly in the race for governor. And Donalds is making history,
03:35becoming Florida's first black governor and the first black Republican ever elected governor in the
03:40U.S. But it was a much closer race than expected. Donalds won about 50 percent of the vote, defeating
03:46Jolly by less than two points. He'll replace term-limited Governor Ron DeSantis in January,
03:52keeping the governor's mansion in Republican hands. Democrats haven't won a governor's race in Florida
03:57since 1994.
