Record Number of Female Governors Elected in 2026 Midterms
Left 50%
Center 50%
Right 0%
2 left · 2 center · 0 right
What happened
NBC News projected that in Tuesday’s 36 gubernatorial elections, Democrats flipped Republican-held governorships in Georgia, Iowa, Texas, and Ohio. The projected winners were Keisha Lance Bottoms over Rick Jackson in Georgia, Rob Sand over Zach Lahn in Iowa, state Rep. Gina Hinojosa over three-term GOP Gov. Greg Abbott in Texas, and Amy Acton over Vivek Ramaswamy in Ohio. Democrats were also projected to hold governorships in Wisconsin (David Crowley), Arizona (Katie Hobbs), Pennsylvania (Josh Shapiro), and Michigan (Jocelyn Benson). Republicans entered Election Day with a 26-24 majority of U.S. governorships. Races in Nevada, Kansas, and at least one other state remained uncalled early Wednesday.
Sourcing check · No one on the record · 4 articles
ANONYMOUS SOURCES ONLY · NO ONE ON THE RECORD IN 4 ARTICLES
No article cites a named source; the reporting relies on people who aren't identified. It started with unnamed sources and none has been named since.
What these terms mean and how they're counted
- On the record · names a source 0 of 4
- On the record means the article cites a source by name for the story's main claim: a person, or an institution speaking officially, such as a company statement or a named agency's spokesperson. The opposite is an unnamed source. The count is how many of the counted articles cite at least one such source; the names are everyone named across them, each once however the articles spell it. Here: No article does.
- Primary evidence · cites a document or data 0 of 4
- Primary evidence means the article cites a record you could check yourself: a court filing or ruling, a dataset or report, a recording or transcript, an official statement or press release, market data. A quote is not a document. The count is how many articles cite one. Here: None cited.
- Credits another outlet 0 of 4
- The article says the story comes from another outlet's reporting (“first reported by Reuters”). Those articles relay the story; they are not independent confirmation. Here: Each article presents its own reporting.
- Unnamed sources 1 of 4
- The main claim is attributed to people who are not identified: “people familiar with the matter”, “officials said”. The count is how many articles do this.
- How it developed
- When the first report landed and whether it named anyone; when the first named source and the first document appeared. Here: First report Nov 3, 11:00 UTC by NewsNation, with no named source. No article has named one since.
- Not counted 0
- Opinion, analysis and video pieces, and articles too short to assess. Every count above is out of the counted articles. An article republished under a new headline is one article.
This is about who is cited, not whether the story is true. Each source below says what it names. How we count
ONE-SIDED THIS WEEK.
Only left-leaning outlets have covered this story in the last two days;
Fox News reported it on 2026-11-04.
Omitted — what each side leaves out
Unpacked
Left-leaning coverage is the only account of Democrats taking a majority of governorships, because right-leaning outlets had not covered this as of publication. That coverage reports the party took mansions in Georgia, Iowa, Texas, and Ohio. NBC News calls Texas the "most shocking flip." Republicans entered the night with a 26-24 majority, according to that coverage. NewsNation found Democrats were already favored in 22 races, a figure the left-leaning pieces omit.
Left-leaning coverage also splits the night between the map and gender. A second NBC News article says voters in 17 states elected female governors. That piece leads with Georgia's winner becoming the first Black female governor. One write-up cites a "broadly toxic political climate for Republicans" while the other centers those firsts.
Which of the four flipped states had Democrats as pre-election favorites?
Bottom line
The Democratic majority of governorships, including the Texas flip, appeared only in left-leaning coverage, and NBC News still never mentioned they were already favored in 22 races.
The receipts — 2 facts one side's coverage lacks
- Andy Beshear said Democratic governors are set to represent the majority of states for the first time since 2010
- Democratic candidates remained locked in uncalled races in Nevada and Kansas
The Left View
NBC News framed the night as Democrats clinching a majority of governorships for the first time in 16 years, citing flips in four states Donald Trump carried in 2024 and a broadly unfavorable climate for Republicans. It highlighted historic firsts: Hinojosa as Texas’s first Latina governor and Bottoms as the first Black woman elected governor, plus three Black gubernatorial winners overall (Bottoms, Maryland’s Wes Moore, and Florida Republican Byron Donalds) and a record of female governors, with voters in 17 states electing women and at least 10 Democratic women projected to win. NBC quoted DGA chair Andy Beshear calling it a new era of Democratic leadership and noted some contests still unresolved. NewsNation, the only center source cited, reported a pre-election fact only: Democrats were favored in 22 of the 36 governor races entering Election Day, and did not report the night’s projected flips.
Our Take (balanced)
The NBC accounts are substantive in form: they name candidates, states, and projected winners rather than resting on unnamed sources. What is established in the material provided is NBC’s election-night projections of Democratic flips in Georgia, Iowa, Texas, and Ohio and holds in several swing states; what is not established is certified vote totals, a final 50-state partisan split, or the outcomes of still-uncalled races including Nevada and Kansas. NewsNation did not corroborate results, only a pre-election favorites count. No right-leaning outlet has reported this. Watch for certified canvasses, remaining race calls, and whether other national outlets independently match the Texas, Georgia, Iowa, and Ohio projections.
4 sources
More stories
The week's bottom lines, in your inbox
One email a week: the five stories that mattered and what they actually mean. Free.