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 former Senate seat.

The two wins came amid widespread and historic gains by Democrats that gave them full control of the US House of Representatives and the Senate for the final two years of Trump's presidency.

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 has served in Congress since 2021 and ran for governor to replace long-serving Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, who was term-limited.

A staunch supporter of Trump, Donalds was at one point on the shortlist to be his running mate in 2024.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, he moved to Florida for university and became a fixture in local politics before running for Congress.

Democrats in the state had some surprise wins, too. Republicans in Florida had helped redraw congressional maps as part of a national redistricting push to boost each party's chances of taking seats in the House.

But in all three districts that were redrawn to help Republicans, Democrats held their seats. (BBC News)