Democrats Sweep Key Elections Across the Country in Defiance of Trump

The Democratic Party on Tuesday night celebrated one of their greatest victories in years as executive offices were captured, redistricting efforts were ratified, and judicial majorities were solidified. The one through line tying all of those victories together seemed to be a rebuke of President Trump. In any president’s first year in office, a number of key elections are held which are considered “bellwethers” of how the commander-in-chief is faring. If Tuesday’s results are any referendum on Mr. Trump, then his political virulence has likely waned in the last 10 months. Democrats won the Virginia governor’s mansion by a margin not seen since the Kennedy administration. New Jerseyans gave the Democratic Party a third term in the governorship for the first time since 1961. California Democrats are now empowered to gerrymander their congressional districts in defiance of the president. And New York City has elected a democratic socialist as mayor who says he is more than ready to take on the president. Some of the worst news for Mr. Trump came early on Tuesday night, when Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger was elected as the first woman governor of the Commonwealth. Ms. Spanberger ran explicitly against Mr. Trump’s federal layoffs and the hike in the cost of living, which resulted in her winning the race by more than 15 points. Ms. Spanberger’s win marks the largest margin of victory by a Democratic gubernatorial candidate in Virginia since 1961. Her victory was especially remarkable because of how effectively she led her party to victory. The Democrats flipped the lieutenant governor’s office to blue from red, won the attorney general’s race despite their candidate advocating for a political opponent’s murder, and expanded the Democratic control of the state legislature. Democrats are now expected to pick up at least 13 seats in the state’s house of delegates. The next wave of Mr. Trump’s pain came from New Jersey, where the president had endorsed former state lawmaker Jack Ciattarelli for governor. Mr. Ciattarelli was pitted against Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill — a Navy helicopter pilot who has represented a swing district in the U.S. House since 2019. Ms. Sherrill won her gubernatorial race by 13 points, which — like Ms. Spanberger’s — represented an historic win for the Democrats. Ms. Sherrill will succeed Governor Phil Murphy — a two-term executive — making her the first governor since 1961 to succeed a term-limited predecessor of the same party. She will be the first Democratic woman to hold the office of governor. Shortly after Ms. Spanberger and Ms. Sherrill were declared the victors in their respective races, Mr. Trump offered his thoughts on Truth Social. “‘TRUMP WASN’T ON THE BALLOT, AND SHUTDOWN, WERE THE TWO REASONS THAT REPUBLICANS LOST ELECTIONS TONIGHT,’ according to Pollsters,’” the president wrote as electoral results looked worse and worse for the GOP. The news only grew dimmer for Mr. Trump and his party as the night wore on. New York state assemblyman Zohran Mamdani will also become the next mayor of New York City in defiance of Mr. Trump. The president endorsed Governor Andrew Cuomo for the mayoralty in a social media post on Monday, though that clearly was not enough. Mr. Mamdani defeated Mr. Cuomo by a nine-point margin on Tuesday. “As Eugene Debs once said: ‘I can see the dawn of a better day for humanity,’” Mr. Mamdani told supporters on Tuesday, quoting the famous Socialist Party presidential candidate. Mr. Mamdani said that the “future is in our hands” and that he and his backers had “toppled a political dynasty” — referring to Mr. Cuomo and his father, Governor Mario Cuomo. “If anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that gave rise to him,” Mr. Mamdani declared to cheering supporters on Tuesday night. “So, Donald Trump, since I know you’re watching, I have four words for you: Turn the volume up!”In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania — which helped deliver the presidency for Mr. Trump last year — Democrats again succeeded with overwhelming margins. Three state supreme court justices were up for re-election, and despite some conservatives throwing their weight at the races, the Democrats succeeded. All three Democratic appointees to the court won their races to retain their seats. Even more devastating is the fact that all three won their elections to hold their seats with more than 60 percent of the vote. The worst result of the night for Mr. Trump, however, may be the vote in California. Governor Gavin Newsom and Democrats in the state legislature earlier this summer asked voters to go to the polls to grant them power to redraw the state’s congressional maps in response to Texas Republicans’ decision to redistrict their state to disenfranchise Democrats. Mr. Newsom’s measure passed with flying colors. His new gerrymander will cancel out the gerrymander enacted by Texas Republicans earlier this year, though other states — both Democrat and Republican — are considering redrawing their own maps. “We’re proud of the work that the people of the state of California did tonight to send a powerful message to an historic president. Donald Trump is an historic president — he is the most historically unpopular president in modern history,” Mr. Newsom bragged on Tuesday night. “Why else is he trying to rig the midterm elections before one single vote is even cast?”

Democrats Sweep Key Elections Across the Country in Defiance of Trump

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