Byron Donalds wins Florida governorship over David Jolly

Byron Donalds defeated Democratic challenger David Jolly in Tuesday's election to become the next governor of Florida. Projections from Fox News and NBC declared the Republican winner as more than 98% of the votes were counted.

Donalds, a member of the Make America Great Again movement and an ally of President Donald Trump, won a close race. The final tally showed him ahead of Jolly by 150,000 votes.

The incoming governor will succeed Ron DeSantis in January. DeSantis, also a Republican, is ending his second term and was barred from seeking reelection. Donalds served as a U.S. Representative for the past six years before entering the race for the top state office.

His victory marks a historic shift for the state. Donalds will be the first Black governor in Florida's history. He will also be the first Black governor elected under the Republican banner at the national level.

The win extends the Republican hold on the state. Donalds will be the fifth consecutive conservative governor of Florida since 1998. Previously, only three Black men had served as governors in the United States: Douglas Wilder of Virginia, Deval Patrick of Massachusetts, and Wes Moore of Maryland.

In related results from the same night, Keisha Lance Bottoms won the governorship in Georgia. She became the first Black woman elected to the post. Voters across the country also selected all members of the House of Representatives, one third of the Senate, and various local officials.