Blacks Are Running In Four States To Become Governor

By Rosaland Tyler
Associate Editor
New Journal and Guide

At least four Black candidates are campaigning to become the governor of Virginia, Michigan, New Jersey, and Georgia.  Two are Republicans and two are Democrats.

Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, a Republican, is running in blue-leaning Virginia where voters will go to the polls on Nov. 4. The second Black gubernatorial candidate,  U.S. Rep. John James, a Republican, recently announced his candidacy in Michigan, where voters will go to the polls on Nov. 3, 2026.

The third candidate, former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, a Democrat, recently announced her candidacy for the top political job in Georgia, where voters will choose a new governor on Nov. 3, 2026. The fourth Black gubernatorial candidate, Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka, a Democrat, recently announced his campaign in New Jersey, where voters will choose a new governor on Nov. 4.

Baraka, the mayor of New Jersey’s largest city for over a decade, in announcing his candidacy, said,  “What’s happening nationally makes it clear to me that (running for governor) is what needs to happen.” 

Baraka said voters need a candidate who will stand on democratic values and push back against the climate in the country that is attacking everything that “we hold near and dear in this country, from DEI to Medicaid and social security.”

In Atlanta, Bottoms said in a recent statement, “Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. reminded us that there is a ‘fierce urgency of now.’

For the people of Georgia, that includes having leaders who aren’t blindly following Trump off of a moral and economic cliff but are focused on the pressing needs in our communities. I have previously publicly shared that I was seriously considering a run for governor and expect to make a formal announcement soon.”

In Virginia, Earle-Sears, age 61, announced her candidacy in September 2024. She will face Democratic candidate Abigail Spanberger, a former state delegate, who served three terms in Congress representing Virginia’s 7th Congressional District that stretches from north-central Virginia to southeastern Prince William County and includes the city of Fredericksburg. She announced last year she would not run for re-election in 2024 to focus on her gubernatorial campaign.

After she was recently confirmed as Virginia’s GOP nominee, Earle-Sears said in a statement that “the stakes in this race couldn’t be higher” as Republicans try to maintain control nationwide.

“I am honored to serve as the Republican nominee in this race and will deliver a victory for every Virginian this fall,” she said.

In Michigan, two-term GOP Congressman John James, age 43, announced his gubernatorial candidacy on April 7. He represents a district north of Detroit. James previously ran twice unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate before narrowly winning his House seat in 2022 by less than 2,000 votes. He won reelection in 2024 with a more comfortable margin, defeating Democrat Carl Marlinga by nearly 6 percentage points.

James, an ally of President Donald Trump, is facing a crowded field of Republican candidates.