A tough battle lasting a year is looming, first over redistricting disputes and then in the midterm elections, for control of the House of Representatives and the fate of Trump's agenda during the last two years of his term. Here are six takeaways from the first major elections of Trump's second era.
Democrats finally fought back Democrats have spent the past year out of power in Washington, desperately but almost always unsuccessfully seeking ways to prevent President Trump from expanding his power. They held protests, spoke all night in the Senate, and organized "No Kings" rallies that drew millions of people across the country. On Tuesday, they finally struck back more concretely. Democrats won state elections in Virginia, New Jersey, California, and Pennsylvania. Democrats are already arguing that Tuesday was a harbinger of the 2026 midterms, while Republicans claim it was an isolated incident in a blue state.
Mamdani gives Democrats a new leader Zohran Mamdani defeated former Governor Andrew Cuomo, who had the backing of Trump and other Republicans, to be elected the next mayor of New York. In a year, Zohran Mamdani has gone from approaching random New Yorkers to talk to them to becoming one of the biggest stars in American politics. Now the 34-year-old mayor-elect of New York, he represents the vanguard of Democratic politics. It was evident again on Tuesday when Democrats easily triumphed in Virginia and New Jersey. Trump won't be on the ballot in next year's midterms, but it's certain Democrats will try to make him the center of their campaigns again.
Newsom helped House Democrats and himself Long before the 2024 presidential election, California Governor Gavin Newsom embarked on a not-so-secret mission to attract national attention. And with a landslide victory in a vote to redraw the state's congressional map in Democrats' favor, Newsom boosted his party's chances in the legislative elections and proved he could turn out voters in a critical election. In the short term, the nearly 2-to-1 margin for California's ballot measure could fuel Democrats in other blue states weighing their own redistricting plans. In his victory speech, Newsom explicitly called on other states—including those with ambitious Democratic governors like Colorado, Illinois, and Maryland—to follow California's lead on redistricting before the midterms. For the next presidential contest, this gives Newsom concrete proof of what he did to combat Trump at a time when Democratic voters crave fighters. How he will use that platform remains to be seen, but it's no mystery where his ambition lies. On Tuesday night, House Democrats officials boasted that this year's results would help them recruit strong candidates to challenge Republicans next year.
It was a bad night for Donald Trump In Virginia, Abigail Spanberger won the governor's race by focusing on Trump's firing of federal workers and the impact of government shutdowns on her state. In New Jersey, Representative Mikie Sherrill capped off her successful campaign by railing against Trump's demand to "cancel" a key Hudson River tunnel. In New York, Trump's last-minute endorsement of Cuomo led Republicans to rally around the former governor, but it failed to stop Mamdani. And in California, voters responded to calls to "save the nation from Trump" by passing a ballot measure to redraw the state's congressional districts, flipping five of them from Republican to Democratic. The president wasn't on the ballot in any of these places, but in each one, Democrats pushed back against his policies and turned his opponents against his cause. Similar results in New Jersey and Virginia eight years ago nearly led Democrats to win the 2018 midterms.
Edge: Democrats Trump gets Republican voters to the polls, but only when he's on the ballot. Democrats have done better in all non-presidential election years since 2017. Their voters are now the ones showing up for special elections and midterms, while the pro-Trump Republican base turns out en masse only in presidential years. This happened this year in Wisconsin's Supreme Court election, where the liberal candidate won by double digits, and in a series of special elections. The era of post-shame continues apace.
Such was the antipathy toward Republican candidates in Virginia that Jones, even overshadowed by scandal, outperformed Vice President Kamala Harris last year in Loudoun County, a key Washington exurb. Jones's political future may have a limit due to his election scandals, but for now, he is beside himself with joy.
Trump not on the ballot? And they came close to winning a two-thirds majority in the Virginia House of Delegates—an extraordinary victory in key districts in an election that serves as a plausible indicator of how voters view both parties, given the anonymity of most candidates.
In New York City, Zohran Mamdani was hovering at 50% of the vote in the mayoral race, defeating former Governor Andrew Cuomo, who had the backing of Trump and other Republicans. When Democrats won in 2017, during Trump's first term, they foreshadowed a blue wave in the following year's midterms. He is an unabashed progressive and a democratic socialist who describes himself as a sympathizer with the Palestinian cause. He also offers a new strategic project to a Democratic Party that for a decade has been defined primarily by its opposition to Trump. By defeating Cuomo in both the primary and general elections, Mamdani offered New York voters a clear alternative with a defined vision. He relentlessly focused on the cost of living, talked nonstop about the prices of almost everything, and expressed an adoration for New York City that few politicians show for the places they call home. And he did it by forging a creative and compelling path on the internet, both through his own social media channels and his appearances with dozens of influencers and podcast hosts. Mamdani's progressive politics may not work as well outside of New York City, and Republicans have already signaled they will try to tie the party's candidates to a Muslim immigrant, but it's likely that Democrats running in the midterms will copy his tactics and message discipline.
Even Democrats will play dumb about a scandal In the final weeks of the Virginia attorney general race, it was revealed that Democratic candidate Jay Jones had sent violent text messages about a political rival and was caught driving 186 miles per hour. But no prominent Virginia Democrat called on him to drop out of the race.
The seats on Georgia's Public Service Commission changed. (*) Reid J. Epstein is a Times reporter covering campaigns and elections from Washington.
