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Eight Black Candidates for Governor Could Make History on Election Day · The Breakfast Club

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  Speaker 1: America has elected thousands of governors in its 250-year history,
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  Speaker 1: but only three have been Black, and now one has
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  Speaker 1: been a woman. Tomorrow, that could change. Eight Black candidates
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  Speaker 1: are running for governor across the country, including two women
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  Speaker 1: who could make history. We'll tell you who's running, where,
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  Speaker 1: and why these elections matter beyond making history. It's Monday,
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  Speaker 1: November 2nd. From the Black Effect Podcast Network, I'm Mimi Brown.
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  Speaker 1: This is Front Page. And here are the day's biggest stories.
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  Speaker 1: Stay with me. We're just one day away from the
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  Speaker 1: midterm elections. And while so much attention is on what
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  Speaker 1: party will control Congress, there's another story that deserves our attention.
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  Speaker 1: Eight black candidates are running for governor in eight different states,
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  Speaker 1: five Democrats and three Republicans. That's a record number of
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  Speaker 1: black majority parties for governor in a single election. And
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  Speaker 1: to understand why that's significant, we have to look back
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  Speaker 1: at the history. In 1989, Douglas Wilder of Virginia became
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  Speaker 1: the first black American elected governor. It took another 17
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  Speaker 1: years before voters elected the second, Deval Patrick of Massachusetts,
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  Speaker 1: in 2006. And then another 16 years before Maryland voters
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  Speaker 1: elected Wes Moore in 2022. That's three black governors elected
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  Speaker 1: in 250 years, all men, all Democrats. Now, other black
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  Speaker 1: Americans have served as governors after taking over from someone
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  Speaker 1: who left office. But only those three won the election
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  Speaker 1: for the job. And tomorrow, voters could add several more
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  Speaker 1: names to that list. Let's start in Georgia, where former
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  Speaker 1: Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms is running against Republican businessman
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  Speaker 1: Rick Johnson. If Bottoms wins, she would become the first
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  Speaker 1: black woman elected to governor in American history. Bottoms says
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  Speaker 1: this election is personal. Her family has lived in Georgia
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  Speaker 1: for more than five generations, going all the way back
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  Speaker 1: to ancestors who were enslaved in the state. But she's
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  Speaker 1: also talking about what families are dealing with right now.
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  Speaker 1: The cost of groceries, higher gas prices, health care. She's
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  Speaker 1: calling for expanding Medicaid, which could help more low-income Georgians
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  Speaker 1: get health insurance. Her opponent, Rick Jackson, has also focused
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  Speaker 1: heavily on her record as Atlanta mayor, particularly crime and
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  Speaker 1: public safety. And there's another major factor in this race, money.
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  Speaker 1: According to advertising data cited by CNN, Jackson and his
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  Speaker 1: supporters have spent hundreds of millions of dollars on campaign ads,
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  Speaker 1: far more than Bottoms and her supporters. Former President Obama
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  Speaker 1: and former Vice President Kamala Harris have both campaigned in
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  Speaker 1: Georgia during the final days of this election. And Bottom
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  Speaker 1: says she hopes her candidacy shows young people what's possible. Now,
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  Speaker 1: Georgia isn't the only state where a black woman could
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  Speaker 1: make history. Minnesota Republican Lisa DeMuth is also running against
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  Speaker 1: Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar. DeMuth made history as the first
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  Speaker 1: black speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives. If elected governor,
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  Speaker 1: she would become the first black woman to hold that
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  Speaker 1: office anywhere in the country and the first elected black
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  Speaker 1: Republican governor. She's campaigning on lowering costs, including gas prices,
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  Speaker 1: and changing how the state spends taxpayer money. Klobuchar has
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  Speaker 1: challenged her on issues including health care and gun safety.
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  Speaker 1: What's interesting is that Minnesota has never elected a woman governor.
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  Speaker 1: So regardless of which candidate wins, the state will elect
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  Speaker 1: its first woman governor. And in Florida, Republican Congressman Byron
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  Speaker 1: Donalds is running against Democrat David Jolly. Donalds is closely
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  Speaker 1: aligned with President Trump. If elected, he would become Florida's
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  Speaker 1: first black governor and the country's first elected black Republican governor.
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  Speaker 1: But his candidacy also has raised an important conversation about
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  Speaker 1: representation and policy. Donald's recently visited Florida A & M University,
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  Speaker 1: historic black college in Tallahassee, and students challenged him on
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  Speaker 1: everything from immigration and gun laws to education and voting rights.
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  Speaker 1: Some booed, others questioned whether his positions reflected their concerns.
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  Speaker 1: But Donald stayed and answered questions for hours. One student
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  Speaker 1: told CNN that electing a black governor would be historic,
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  Speaker 1: but she was more concerned about the policies that person
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  Speaker 1: would put in place. And that's an important decision because
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  Speaker 1: making history doesn't mean every voter agrees with the candidates' positions.
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  Speaker 1: And in Michigan, Republican Governor John James is running against
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  Speaker 1: Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson. James is a West
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  Speaker 1: Point graduate and Army veteran who served as a helicopter
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  Speaker 1: pilot in Iraq. He previously ran for the U.S. Senate
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  Speaker 1: and is now serving in Congress. He's campaigning on economic issues,
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  Speaker 1: government spending, and public safety. Benson has emphasized her record
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  Speaker 1: overseeing Michigan elections and her plans for affordability and state government.
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  Speaker 1: Michigan has never elected a black governor, and this is
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  Speaker 1: another state where voters are weighing the candidate's experience and
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  Speaker 1: competing ideas about the economy. And over in Nevada, Democratic
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  Speaker 1: Attorney General Aaron Ford is challenging Republican Governor Joe Lombardo.
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  Speaker 1: Ford has already made history as Nevada's first black attorney general,
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  Speaker 1: and if he wins, he would become the first black
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  Speaker 1: governor elected west of the Mississippi River. Ford has emphasized
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  Speaker 1: civil rights, voting rights, and making life more affordable. Lombardo
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  Speaker 1: is running on his record as governor, including his approach
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  Speaker 1: to public safety and the economy. Former Vice President Kamala
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  Speaker 1: Harris recently campaigned with Ford, highlighting the possibility of Nevada
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  Speaker 1: making history. And in Wisconsin, Democrat David Crawley is running
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  Speaker 1: against Republican Congressman Tom Tiffany. Crawley is the Milwaukee County executive,
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  Speaker 1: and when he was elected to that job in 2020,
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  Speaker 1: he became the youngest person ever to hold that position.
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  Speaker 1: He's now trying to become Wisconsin's first black governor. His
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  Speaker 1: campaigning has focused on affordability, health care, and his experience
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  Speaker 1: managing county government. Tiffany is campaigning on conservative economic policies
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  Speaker 1: and his record in Congress. Wisconsin is another state where
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  Speaker 1: decisions about public schools, health care, and taxes are central
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  Speaker 1: to the governor's job. And in South Carolina, Democratic State
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  Speaker 1: Representative Jermaine Johnson is running against Republican Allen Wilson. Johnson
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  Speaker 1: is a former college basketball player who represents an area
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  Speaker 1: near Columbia. He's seeking to become South Carolina's first black
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  Speaker 1: elected governor. His campaign is focused on issues including education,
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  Speaker 1: economic opportunity, and improving life for working families. Wilson, the
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  Speaker 1: state's attorney general, is campaigning on his experience in law
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  Speaker 1: enforcement and conservative policies. And South Carolina is a state
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  Speaker 1: with a long history of black political leadership, but one
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  Speaker 1: that has never elected a black governor. And finally, in Maryland,
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  Speaker 1: Governor Wes Moore is running for a second term against
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  Speaker 1: Republican Dan Cox. Moore made history in 2022 when he
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  Speaker 1: became just the third black governor elected in American history.
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  Speaker 1: He's also an Army veteran, Rhodes Scholar, and best-selling author.
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  Speaker 1: Moore has focused his administration on economic opportunity, education, and
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  Speaker 1: public safety. And unlike the other seven black candidates we're
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  Speaker 1: talking about, Moore is already serving as governor. He is
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  Speaker 1: now asking Maryland voters to give him another four years.
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  Speaker 1: These are eight candidates that share a historic opportunity, but
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  Speaker 1: they don't all share the same policies. They represent different parties,
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  Speaker 1: different backgrounds, different ideas, and how their state should be run.
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  Speaker 1: And that matters because governors have a tremendous amount of
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  Speaker 1: power over our everyday lives. They sign state budgets. They
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  Speaker 1: can approve or veto laws. And they help determine how
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  Speaker 1: much money goes to public schools, health care programs, and housing.
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  Speaker 1: They make decisions about criminal justice, public safety, and economic development.
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  Speaker 1: So when we're talking about who becomes governor, we're also
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  Speaker 1: talking about the people making decisions that can affect your
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  Speaker 1: child's school, your health care and your household budget. And
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  Speaker 1: that's especially important when we talk about black communities. Representation matters,
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  Speaker 1: but so do policies. A candidate making history doesn't automatically
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  Speaker 1: mean every voter will agree with what that candidate plans
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  Speaker 1: to do. That's why voters have to look beyond the
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  Speaker 1: historic first and examine the records, the proposals and the promises.
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  Speaker 1: We'll be watching for what happens on Tuesday. That's your
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  Speaker 1: front page. This podcast was brought to you by the
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  Speaker 1: Black Effect Podcast Network.