An Off-Year Election Brings Out the Crowds
A very good night for Democrats, and a bad one for Donald Trump
The pundits expected Democrats to do well Tuesday night—but not this well.
They swept every key race, though there weren’t many.
In New York, Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani, heavily favored to win, did so quickly. The call came about 45 minutes after polls closed. President Trump’s last-minute endorsement—along with help from Stephen Miller—failed to push Andrew Cuomo over the top.
Democrats flipped Virginia’s governor’s seat, giving Abigail Spanberger a decisive win. They also took the lieutenant governor and attorney general races. The governor’s race was called in under an hour.
In New Jersey, Democrat Mikie Sherrill defeated Republican to become governor.
Georgia voters gave Democrats control of the state’s Public Service Commission for the first time in 20 years.
And in California, turnout surged for a single ballot measure—Prop 50. It passed easily. The measure allows redistricting to add Democratic seats, offsetting Texas’s Republican gerrymander designed to cement GOP control of the House.
It was striking to see long lines for a ballot with no candidates’ names on it.
Pundits are calling the results “buyer’s remorse” for voters unhappy with Trump’s first year back in office. Even some of his loyal supporters are expressing doubts.
Trump had a bad night and vented on social media.
But in truth, he was on the ballot. Every candidate he endorsed lost. Voters had him on their minds.
The question now: Was this a one-night spasm, or the start of something larger? American voters have been fickle in recent years, swinging from one extreme to another. Are they ready for things to calm down—and for politics to get boring again?