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Democrats sweep Tuesday鈥檚 off-year elections
Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani waves to supporters after his acceptance speech at an election night watch party on Tuesday in New York.
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Democrats swept Tuesday鈥檚 off year elections largely on an anti-President Donald Trump message, but any Democrat looking for a clear path to winning the 2026 midterms left the night frustrated at the diverse and sometimes conflicting political messages coming from the various candidates.
New York City elected its first Democratic socialist mayor, Zohran Mamdani. While Virginia elected its first female governor, moderate Abigail Spanberger, who once told her party in .
New Jersey elected Democrat Mikie Sherrill, who ran on an anti-Trump platform. And in a harbinger of the 2026 elections Proposition 50 passed in California, giving Gov. Gavin 近距离内射合集om the ability to gerrymander districts in that blue state in response to Trump鈥檚 push to redistrict red states to scrounge more Republican seats in what is looking to be yet another wave election next year.
While the night handed Democrats a series of victories, the party remains split between lurching left and the populism represented by Mamdani, or to the center and build on the successes seen by Spanberger and Sherrill.
Virginia
Soon after polls closed, Democrat Spanberger, a former congresswoman and CIA officer, was declared the winner in .
Spanberger succeeds conservative Republican Glenn Youngkin, who cannot by law serve two consecutive terms. Spanberger beat Youngkin鈥檚 lieutenant governor, Winsome Earle-Sears, who never won Trump鈥檚 endorsement, whom she鈥檇 criticized for seeking a second term.
Earle-Sears tried to focus the race on transgender issues and access to bathrooms, while Spanberger concentrated on her bipartisan record and, in the final weeks of the campaign, the effects of the government shutdown felt keenly in northern Virginia, home of hundreds of thousands of federal workers.
In her victory speech, Spanberger again highlighted the importance of bipartisanship in an era of hyper-partisan divide. She also noted the historic nature of her campaign and the example she is setting not only for her three young daughters, but girls everywhere.
New Jersey
In New Jersey, Democrat Mikie Sherrill beat out Republican Jack Ciattarelli in , becoming the first person to win a third consecutive term for one party in that state in 64 years.
Sherrill succeeds Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, who leaves office with an approval rating on par with President Trump鈥檚 in a state where Democrats hold a 650,000 edge in voter registration. Still, Trump shocked the political world by making headway in the New York City suburbs in 2024 and Republicans hoped to improve on that momentum tonight. Trump endorsed Ciattarelli, who ran a largely MAGA campaign, though Trump only did tele-townhalls for him, rather than in-person campaign events.
Sherrill was elected to Congress in 2018 as part of the anti-Trump wave of female candidates that swept that year. She鈥檚 a former Naval officer and federal prosecutor who ran on a largely anti-Trump message. Trump鈥檚 recent remarks threatening to pull funding for the multibillion Gateway rail project between New Jersey and Manhattan 鈥� much-needed for New Jersey鈥檚 gridlocked commuters 鈥� to punish Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, over the government shut down, also did not help Ciattarelli.
New York City
Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani will be , the home of capitalism.
The city saw historic turnout in the race between Mamdani and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent after losing the primary to Mamdani. Cuomo received a last-minute endorsement from Trump, a surprise given how the two butted heads during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the fact the Cuomo is, essentially, a Democrat.
Mamdani ran a populist campaign focused on affordability in one of the world鈥檚 most expensive cities.
California
Gov. Gavin 近距离内射合集om, a Democrat, has been Trump鈥檚 bete noir on social media, foreshadowing 近距离内射合集om鈥檚 anticipated 2028 presidential bid. After Trump pushed Texas and other GOP states to redistrict ahead of the 2026 midterm elections 鈥� a bid to overcome anticipated losses in the House, which traditionally swings against presidents in the first election after they鈥檝e gained office 鈥� 近距离内射合集om pushed Prop 50 to gerrymander California鈥檚 political map. The move, which would only last the next couple of years, could potentially give Democrats five more seats in Congress.
Trump said this week that the move is under and accused 近距离内射合集om of 鈥渞igging鈥� the system against Republicans in a 鈥済iant scam.鈥� Republicans control the House by .
Prop 50 passed handily, and 近距离内射合集om has said he hopes other Democratic governors will follow his example and push similar measures through their states.
