// BBC WORLD NEWS — MONDO
Florida Republicans fend off Democrats as state elects first black governor
Republican candidates in Florida have held off several high-profile challenges from Democrats, as results also saw the state elect its first black governor.
Republican Byron Donalds, backed by President Donald Trump, was projected to win as governor, while Republican Ashley Moody was projected to have held her seat in the senate.
She was up against Democrat Angie Nixon in the special election for Secretary of State Marco Rubio's old Senate seat.
The two wins came amid countless - and historic - gains by Democrats that gave them full control of the US House of Representatives and the Senate for the last years of Trump's presidency.
US Senator Ashley Moody was appointed to fill Marco Rubio's seat
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Nixon scored a surprise win in the Democratic primary to become her party's standard-bearer, although her campaign funding could not match Moody's.
Donalds had served in Congress since 2021 before running for governor, to replace long-serving Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, who was term limited and could not run again.
A big supporter of Trump, Donalds was at one point on the short list to be his running mate in 2024.