Overview
- Democrats won the three marquee contests, with Zohran Mamdani taking New York City mayor, Mikie Sherrill winning governor of New Jersey, and Abigail Spanberger elected governor of Virginia, as Democrats also secured Virginia’s lieutenant governor and attorney general posts.
- President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that Republicans lost because he was not on the ballot and because of the government shutdown, attributing the assessment to pollsters.
- Fresh exit polling showed majorities disapproved of Trump’s job performance, including 55% in New Jersey, 56% in Virginia, 69% in New York, and 63% in California.
- Reporting and analysts highlighted the second-month shutdown and recent federal workforce cuts as drags on GOP support, with the effects felt strongly in Virginia’s federal worker hubs.
- Several Republicans aligned with Trump were defeated, including Jack Ciattarelli in New Jersey, and Trump’s endorsement of Andrew Cuomo failed in New York City, where he had also threatened to curb federal funds if Mamdani won.