Where I live, in Virginia, Abigail Spanberger had been leading in the polls by 5 to 8 points in the race for governor. She won by 15. The spread was emblematic of a Democratic night.
Below is from this morning's Washington Post:
Democrats swept key elections across the country on Tuesday night, delivering a rebuke of President Donald Trump’s second term so far and boosting the party’s hopes ahead of the midterms.
In Virginia — traditionally a bellwether in the year after a presidential election — Democrats won every statewide contest, and Abigail Spanberger led the governor’s race by 15 points with almost all of the vote tallied. In New Jersey, Democratic gubernatorial pick Mikie Sherrill won by almost as much, easily beating back a strong Republican candidate whom she attacked for embracing Trump.
In California, Democrats won a ballot measure to redraw their congressional districts, which they pitched as a check on Trump — a response to the president’s push to squeeze more GOP House seats out of red states.
“We were the barometer tonight for what the American public is feeling one year into Trump term two,” Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Virginia) said in an interview. “We basically sent a message that we can do a hell of a lot better than we’re doing.”
Republicans expected a tough political environment nationwide this year as polls showed voters souring on Trump, though some had been hopeful about springing an upset or two. Democrats focused much of their marquee campaigns on the president, spending about $18 million on general-election ads mentioning Trump in Virginia and New Jersey, while just $1.3 million of Republicans’ ads mentioned the president, according to AdImpact.
Polling in Pennsylvania heading into Tuesday showed a more competitive race than Democrats would have liked. But Sherrill wound up winning handily, just like Spanberger. Early Wednesday morning, Sherrill led by 13 points with almost all of the vote counted.
Republicans had some reasons for optimism earlier. Their candidate, 63-year-old businessman Jack Ciattarelli, came within three points of defeating Gov. Phil Murphy (D) in 2021. New Jersey shifted to the right more than any state besides New York last fall. Democrats have controlled state government for almost eight years, and Ciattarelli blamed them for the high cost of living while arguing his opponent would bring more of the same.
California’s Proposition 50 was voters’ clearest opportunity to challenge the Trump administration, and it passed decisively. Democrats put it on the ballot as a counterweight to Trump’s unusual effort to draw more Republican-leaning House seats before the 2026 midterms — ahead of the normal redistricting schedule tied to the census.
Prop 50 asked Californians to temporarily override their independent redistricting commission and draw a House map with five more blue-leaning seats. That’s the same number of red-leaning seats Republicans added in Texas this year.
Below is from this morning's Washington Post:
Democrats swept key elections across the country on Tuesday night, delivering a rebuke of President Donald Trump’s second term so far and boosting the party’s hopes ahead of the midterms.
In Virginia — traditionally a bellwether in the year after a presidential election — Democrats won every statewide contest, and Abigail Spanberger led the governor’s race by 15 points with almost all of the vote tallied. In New Jersey, Democratic gubernatorial pick Mikie Sherrill won by almost as much, easily beating back a strong Republican candidate whom she attacked for embracing Trump.
In California, Democrats won a ballot measure to redraw their congressional districts, which they pitched as a check on Trump — a response to the president’s push to squeeze more GOP House seats out of red states.
“We were the barometer tonight for what the American public is feeling one year into Trump term two,” Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Virginia) said in an interview. “We basically sent a message that we can do a hell of a lot better than we’re doing.”
Republicans expected a tough political environment nationwide this year as polls showed voters souring on Trump, though some had been hopeful about springing an upset or two. Democrats focused much of their marquee campaigns on the president, spending about $18 million on general-election ads mentioning Trump in Virginia and New Jersey, while just $1.3 million of Republicans’ ads mentioned the president, according to AdImpact.
Polling in Pennsylvania heading into Tuesday showed a more competitive race than Democrats would have liked. But Sherrill wound up winning handily, just like Spanberger. Early Wednesday morning, Sherrill led by 13 points with almost all of the vote counted.
Republicans had some reasons for optimism earlier. Their candidate, 63-year-old businessman Jack Ciattarelli, came within three points of defeating Gov. Phil Murphy (D) in 2021. New Jersey shifted to the right more than any state besides New York last fall. Democrats have controlled state government for almost eight years, and Ciattarelli blamed them for the high cost of living while arguing his opponent would bring more of the same.
California’s Proposition 50 was voters’ clearest opportunity to challenge the Trump administration, and it passed decisively. Democrats put it on the ballot as a counterweight to Trump’s unusual effort to draw more Republican-leaning House seats before the 2026 midterms — ahead of the normal redistricting schedule tied to the census.
Prop 50 asked Californians to temporarily override their independent redistricting commission and draw a House map with five more blue-leaning seats. That’s the same number of red-leaning seats Republicans added in Texas this year.
