By News Americas Now Staff Writer
News Americas Now, NY, NY, Weds. Nov. 4, 2026: News Americas Now, NY, NY, Weds. Nov. 4, 2026: Caribbean political representation reached a new milestone in the 2026 US Midterm Elections, with voters in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Florida and Maryland sending Caribbean-rooted leaders to governors’ mansions across sharply different political landscapes.
In the U.S. Virgin Islands, longtime Democratic congressional delegate Stacey Plaskett made history by becoming the first woman elected governor of the territory and the first Black woman elected governor of a U.S. territory. Plaskett and running mate Milton Potter captured approximately 62.8 percent of the vote in unofficial returns, defeating four independent tickets.
Her victory came on the same night Republican Byron Donalds won Florida’s governor’s race, becoming the state’s first Black governor, while Democratic Gov. Wes Moore secured another term in Maryland. Together, the results placed Caribbean-rooted leadership at the helm of three U.S. jurisdictions – the Virgin Islands, Florida and Maryland – spanning both major political parties.
PLASKETT MAKES HISTORY IN THE U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS
Plaskett’s victory represents a landmark moment for the U.S. Virgin Islands, where voters have directly elected governors since 1970. She becomes the first woman chosen by Virgin Islands voters to lead the territory and the first Black woman elected governor of any U.S. territory.
The longtime delegate to Congress will succeed term-limited Gov. Albert Bryan Jr., who congratulated Plaskett and Lieutenant Governor-elect Milton Potter following Tuesday’s election. Her election also gives the Caribbean diaspora story a different dimension from the mainland results: Plaskett is not simply a politician with Caribbean ancestry. She will govern a Caribbean U.S. territory itself.
DONALDS MAKES FLORIDA HISTORY
In Florida, Republican Byron Donalds won the governor’s race, becoming the state’s first Black governor. Donalds, whose family roots trace to Jamaica and Panama, will succeed term-limited Gov. Ron DeSantis. His victory came in a race considerably tighter than Florida’s recent gubernatorial contests and underscored both the state’s continued Republican control and the growing visibility of Caribbean heritage in statewide political leadership.
MOORE HOLDS MARYLAND
In Maryland, Democratic Gov. Wes Moore won reelection, extending another Caribbean connection in U.S. gubernatorial leadership. Moore, Maryland’s first Black governor, has repeatedly spoken about his Jamaican maternal roots and his mother’s immigration story.
Donalds and Moore represent opposite ends of the partisan spectrum, yet both reflect the increasing presence of Caribbean heritage at the highest levels of state government. There is no reliable national exit polling that isolates Caribbean-American voters as a distinct political bloc, making it impossible to determine precisely how Caribbean voters broke in the 2026 midterms. What can be measured is representation.
BOTTOMS MAKES HISTORY IN GEORGIA
The election also delivered another historic milestone in Georgia, where Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms became the first Black woman elected governor of a U.S. state. Bottoms’ victory came just hours after Plaskett became the first Black woman elected governor of a U.S. territory, making Election Night 2026 particularly significant for Black women in American political leadership. The former Atlanta mayor’s win also marked the first Democratic victory in a Georgia governor’s race since 1998, in a state where Caribbean Americans are over 183,000 conservatively.
DEMOCRATS GAIN GROUND NATIONALLY
The historic gubernatorial outcomes unfolded against a broader national political shift. Democrats made major gains in Congress, winning control of the U.S. Congress and the Senate as votes continued to be counted.
The results were widely interpreted by political analysts as a rebuke of President Donald Trump and parts of his second-term agenda, particularly amid voter concerns over the economy, affordability, immigration enforcement and the direction of the country. The election also followed months of political battles over diversity, equity and inclusion policies, federal spending and immigration.
Trump was not on the ballot, and Republican candidates campaigned on a mix of national and state-level issues, making it difficult to attribute every race to any single factor. Still, the congressional results suggested voters were prepared to impose new constraints on the administration.
A CARIBBEAN POLITICAL MILESTONE
For Caribbean Americans and the broader region, however, Election 2026 produced a distinct political milestone. The U.S. Virgin Islands will be led by its first woman governor. Florida will have its first Black governor, with Jamaican and Panamanian roots. Maryland will continue under a governor with Jamaican family heritage. They represent different jurisdictions, different political parties and different ideological traditions.
But taken together, they point to something increasingly visible in American public life: Caribbean heritage is no longer confined to the margins of political power. From Charlotte Amalie to Tallahassee and Annapolis, Caribbean roots are now firmly present in the governor’s mansion.