Nationwide — While Carson voters were deciding a city charter measure and a long list of state propositions, voters in four other states were making history.

On Election Night, Georgia, Florida, Nevada and Wisconsin each elected a Black governor for the first time. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore also won a second term. Come January, five Black governors will lead states at the same time, something that had never happened before.

The scale of the change is striking. In nearly 250 years, the country had elected only three Black governors: Doug Wilder of Virginia, Deval Patrick of Massachusetts and Moore. Tuesday’s results raise that number to seven, according to the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.

Meet the new governors:

Keisha Lance Bottoms (D), Georgia. The former Atlanta mayor is the first Black woman ever elected governor in the United States. She beat Republican Rick Jackson, a billionaire businessman, by about 11 points.

Byron Donalds (R), Florida. The Trump-endorsed congressman defeated former Rep. David Jolly. He is Florida’s first Black governor and the first Black Republican elected governor anywhere in the country.

Aaron Ford (D), Nevada. Ford, Nevada’s attorney general, ousted Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo. Per the Associated Press, he becomes the first Black governor of any state west of the Mississippi, the closest of the new governors to us here in Southern California.

David Crowley (D), Wisconsin. The Milwaukee County executive defeated Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany. His win came months after he left the race, rejoined it, and won his primary by about half a point.

Wes Moore (D), Maryland. Moore was reelected and will no longer be the only Black governor in the country.

The five come from both parties and from every corner of the country. Their wins were not universal, though. Black nominees for governor lost in South Carolina, Michigan, Minnesota and Arkansas. Five of nine Black major-party nominees won, the Joint Center reported.

Also read: Becerra Becomes First Latino Elected Governor as 16 Black Candidates Lead in California Races

California has never elected a Black governor. Still, Tuesday showed how fast barriers can fall when voters turn out. Carson knows the power of local leadership, and the same civic energy that shapes our city council and our charter also shapes who leads our states.

The Carson Compass will keep watching how these new governors govern, and what their leadership could mean for communities like ours.