November 5 – 12:30 a.m. update
California voters approve new US House map to boost Democrats in 2026
LOS ANGELES— California voters have approved a plan to overhaul the state’s congressional district boundaries, giving Democrats a boost in their bid to win the U.S. House majority next year. The approval of Proposition 50 could allow Democrats to gain up to five additional seats in the 2026 midterms, when they hope to gain the power to block President Donald Trump’s agenda in Congress. The measure was pushed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom in response to a Republican-led redistricting effort in Texas. The California measure replaces maps drawn by an independent commission with new districts created by the Democratically controlled Legislature.
November 4 – 9:00 p.m. update
Zohran Mamdani wins NYC mayor’s race, capping a stunning ascent
NEW YORK — Zohran Mamdani has been elected mayor of New York City, capping the Democrat’s stunning ascent from little-known state lawmaker just a year ago to one of the most talked-about politicians in the country. Mamdani, a 34-year-old assembly member, defeated former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa in Tuesday’s election. With the victory, the democratic socialist will etch his place in history as the city’s first Muslim mayor, the first of South Asian heritage and the first born in Africa. He will also become the city’s youngest mayor in more than a century when he takes office on Jan. 1.
Democrat Mikie Sherrill elected governor of New Jersey, defeating opponent who aligned with Trump
TRENTON, N.J. — Democratic U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill has been elected governor of New Jersey. Her victory over Republican Jack Ciattarelli shores up Democratic control of a state that has been reliably blue in presidential and Senate contests but had shown signs of shifting rightward in recent years. The four-term member of Congress centered her campaign on her biography as a Navy helicopter pilot and former prosecutor who would stand up to President Donald Trump. She will be New Jersey’s second female governor. Ciattarelli lost his second straight governor’s election after coming within a few points of defeating Gov. Phil Murphy four years ago.
November 4 – 8:30 p.m. update
Abigail Spanberger elected Virginia governor in a historic first that boosts Democrats ahead of 2026
RICHMOND, Va. — Democrat Abigail Spanberger won the Virginia governor’s race Tuesday, defeating Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears to give Democrats a key victory heading into the 2026 midterm elections and make history as the first-ever woman to lead the commonwealth.
Spanberger’s victory will flip partisan control of the governor’s office when the former congresswoman and CIA case officer succeeds outgoing Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin. She won with a campaign emphasizing economic issues, a strategy that may serve as a model for other Democrats in next year’s elections as they try to break President Donald Trump’s and Republicans’ hold on power in Washington and gain ground in statehouses.
Throughout the campaign, Spanberger made carefully crafted economic arguments against Trump’s policies, while she spent considerable sums on ads tying Earle-Sears to the president. She campaigned across the state, including in Republican-leaning areas. Yet she also emphasized her support for abortion rights in the last Southern state that has not enacted new restrictions or bans on the procedure, and she railed against Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, the U.S. government shutdown and their negative impact on a state with several hundred thousand federal employees.
That approach helped corral Democrats’ core supporters while attracting the kinds of swing voters who elected Youngkin four years ago. It also continued a historical trend for Virginia: Since Jimmy Carter won the White House in 1976, Virginia has backed a governor from the opposite party of every first-term president in the following year. This year is a special case, given the gap between Trump’s terms.
Republicans, meanwhile, must grapple again with a battleground loss by an arch-conservative from the president’s party.
Trump never campaigned for Earle-Sears, though he did give her his tepid support. Their uneasy alliance raises questions about the ideal Republican nominee for contested general elections and how the president’s volatile standing with voters might affect GOP candidates next November. The midterm elections will settle statehouse control in dozens of states and determine whether Republicans maintain majorities in Washington for the final years of Trump’s presidency.
Earle-Sears 61, would have become the first Black woman to be elected as a governor in the U.S.