What the Democrats' Good Night Means for 2026 and Beyond

"Election Night 2025 was a good one for Democrats. On Tuesday, the Party recaptured the governorship in Virginia, with the victory of the former congresswoman Abigail Spanberger over the Republican Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears, and held the governorship in New Jersey, with the congresswoman Mikie Sherrill's defeat of Jack Ciattarelli. Both victories had been expected, as was Zohran Mamdani's defeat of Andrew Cuomo in the New York mayoral election."

"(Spanberger and Sherrill won by approximately fifteen and thirteen percentage points, respectively; Mamdani appears on track for a high single-digit win.) Democrats also did well lower down the ballot in a number of Virginia races, in state races in Pennsylvania and Georgia, and, notably, in California, where the redistricting referendum led by Gavin Newsom-a response to Texas's Republican-led effort to create five new G.O.P. House seats- passed overwhelmingly."

"What's your biggest takeaway from Tuesday's results? It's a bad night to be a Republican. It's hard to see what the silver lining is when you have losses all over the place. In the past nine months or so, a lot of people have been saying that the Democratic Party's brand is in the toilet. Democrats are not popular. They seem disliked by much of the country, including a big chunk of their own voters."

Democrats won major 2025 races, recapturing the Virginia governorship as Abigail Spanberger defeated Republican Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears by about fifteen points and holding New Jersey with Mikie Sherrill's victory over Jack Ciattarelli by roughly thirteen points. Zohran Mamdani appears poised for a high single-digit win over Andrew Cuomo in the New York mayoral race. Democrats also gained down-ballot in Virginia, and saw state-level successes in Pennsylvania and Georgia. California voters overwhelmingly approved Gavin Newsom's redistricting referendum responding to Texas Republicans' map efforts. The results reveal unexpected Democratic strength and widespread Republican losses.

Read at The New Yorker