Byron Donalds has made history in the Sunshine State. The Republican congressman has won the race for governor of Florida, defeating Democrat David Jolly, according to The Associated Press.

When he takes office in January, Donalds will become the first Black governor in Florida’s history, and the first Black Republican ever elected governor of any state.

Donalds celebrated his victory Tuesday night in Hollywood, Florida, after a race that proved far closer than many expected. Democrats posted strong turnout during early voting, but Election Day voters carried Donalds across the finish line in a state Republicans have dominated in recent years.

His win caps a fast rise in Florida politics. Donalds has represented Florida’s 19th Congressional District since 2021, winning election three times, and quickly became one of the most visible Republicans in Washington.

His bid for governor got an early boost when President Donald Trump endorsed him more than a year before the election, effectively clearing the field. He went on to win the August Republican primary by more than 20 points over Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, and Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is term-limited, endorsed him in September.

Jolly made it a real fight. A former Republican congressman who represented Florida’s 13th District in the 2010s, Jolly ran as a Democrat with former U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham as his running mate. Donalds ran alongside former state Sen. Bryan Avila, who will serve as lieutenant governor.

Florida has never had a Black governor, and Black governors remain rare across the South. Donalds now joins a small group of Black leaders who have broken through in a region where the office was long out of reach.