US Democrats sweep key races as Zohran Mamdani wins NYC mayoral race, N.J. elects Mikie Sherrill and California votes on Prop. 50
Democrats notched major victories across the United States on Tuesday, in a series of closely watched local elections seen as the first major electoral verdict on President Donald Trump’s tumultuous second term in the White House.
New York City’s mayoral race has been billed as a fight for the future of the Democratic Party, while gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey and a California ballot measure have drawn national attention.
While Tuesday’s elections don’t involve the presidency or control of Congress, there are plenty of intriguing statewide and local races and ballot measures that could offer a window into the mood of the electorate heading into next year’s midterms.
Results so far have favored Democrats in a major way. In New York City, voters elected Zohran Mamdani, a 34-year-old state Assembly member and democratic socialist, as their next mayor. Mamdani defeated former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who joined the race as an independent after losing in the Democratic primary.
Democrats also won both of the governor’s races that were on the ballot. Abigail Spanberger, a former U.S. representative, was elected in Virginia to replace outgoing Republican Glenn Youngkin. She will become the state’s first female governor. Mikie Sherrill also comfortably won the governor’s race in New Jersey, keeping the state under Democratic control.
With the rest of the high-profile races already decided, all eyes have shifted to California, where voters will decide whether to authorize a proposal — called Proposition 50 — to redraw the state’s congressional districts to give Democrats more House seats in Congress. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has championed the plan as a way to counter the recent GOP-led redistricting efforts in Texas and other red states.
Voting will end in California at 11 p.m. ET.
Presidents Trump and Obama weigh in on Tuesday’s election results
Posting on X, former Democratic President Barack Obama congratulated “all the Democrats who won tonight,” adding that the “future looks a little bit brighter” because of Tuesday’s results in Virginia, New Jersey, New York City and elsewhere.
Meanwhile, President Trump — who succeeded Obama in 2016 — claimed on his Truth Social network that there were “TWO REASONS” why “REPUBLICANS LOST ELECTIONS TONIGHT”: “TRUMP WASN’T ON THE BALLOT, AND SHUTDOWN.”
Trump attributed those findings to unidentified “Pollsters.”
A few minutes later, the president added that “the 60 Minutes interview of Donald J. Trump, on CBS, Sunday night, was the highest rated 60 Minutes IN YEARS!”
Seemingly referencing Democrat Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral victory in New York City, The White House’s X account also posted a modified New York Knicks logo to remind followers who currently occupies the Oval Office.
Sherrill: ‘This nation has not ever been, nor will it ever be, ruled by kings’
In an Election Night speech mostly devoted to the bread-and-butter concerns of everyday New Jerseyans, the state’s new governor-elect, Mikie Sherrill, also hinted that a “No Kings”-inspired backlash to President Trump’s second-term policies had propelled her and other Democrats to victory on Tuesday.
In “this election … we chose” not “to give into our darker impulses,” Sherrill told her supporters. “Here in New Jersey, we know that this nation has not ever been, nor will it ever be, ruled by kings. We take oaths to a Constitution, not a king.”
Referencing the “genius” of New Jersey’s state motto, “Liberty and prosperity,” Sherrill claimed “the president is backing away from this ideal” by “cutting SNAP, ripping away healthcare and terminating Gateway,” a popular rail tunnel project linking New Jersey to New York City.
“We here in New Jersey are bound to fight for a different future for our children,” she continued. “We know that no one in our great state is safe when our neighbors are targeted.”
Spanberger: ‘Virginia chose pragmatism over partisanship’
Democrat Abigail Spanberger, the first woman to be elected governor of Virginia, framed her victory in Tuesday’s contest as a “message to the whole world” about choosing “pragmatism over partisanship” — drawing an implicit contrast with President Trump and with members of her own party who prioritize ideological purity over what she described as “practical results.”
“We chose our commonwealth over chaos,” Spanberger told her supporters. “You all chose leadership that will focus relentlessly on what matters most: lowering costs, keeping our communities safe and strengthening our economy for every Virginian — leadership that will focus on problem-solving, not stoking division.”
A former three-term U.S. representative from northern Virginia, Spanberger, 46, parlayed her experience as a CIA officer into a career as a moderate Democratic voice on Capitol Hill — or, as she often put it, “a passionate pragmatist.”
Spanberger’s gubernatorial campaign stuck to a similar script, focusing less on Trump’s latest social media post than on the cost of living — an especially salient issue in a state where many residents have been affected by the president’s recent cuts to the federal government.
On Tuesday, Spanberger pledged to continue working “with anyone and everyone regardless of political party.”
“I know in my heart that we can unite,” she said, “and set an example for the rest of the nation.”
