Tuesday night was a far cry from the shell-shocked scenes in Democrats’ election headquarters a year ago this November.
In three key races, for Virginia governor, New Jersey governor and New York City mayor, the party’s nominees drew in huge numbers of the electorate by attacking President Donald Trump and offering plans to tackle what exit polls showed was voters’ top concern: affordability.
The Democratic wins come as Trump and Republicans have seen sinking approval ratings 10 months into his second term.
Here are some of the key takeaways from Tuesday’s election — one year to the 2026 midterms:
Democrats turn the tide
The national spotlight was on Abigail Spanberger in Virginia, Mikie Sherrill, in New Jersey and Zohran Mamdani in New York City as the first true tests for the Democrats after the party’s punishing defeat in the 2024 nationwide election.
Tuesday’s results showed the party is on the offensive, with all three candidates projected to score sizable wins over their opponents.
“We sent a message to the whole world that in 2025, Virginia chose pragmatism over partisanship. We chose our commonwealth over chaos,” Spanbrger said.
It’s the economy, again
Preliminary exit poll data compiled by ABC News in the three races showed that the majority of Americans were concerned about the cost of living.
Nearly half of Virginia voters said that the economy was the most important issue facing the commonwealth.
In New Jersey, six in 10 voters said that the economy in the state was doing “not so good” or “poor,” while about four in 10 said it was “excellent” or “good.”
More than half of voters in New York City said the cost of living was the most important issue they faced.
Spanberger, Sherrill and Mamdani all campaigned with affordability as the main focus.
Although each candidate has different proposals to lower costs — with Mamdani being the most vocal with raising the tax rate on the wealthiest to pay for services such as child care — voters in huge numbers were attracted to their messages.
Voters are not happy with the state of the country
Just as with last year’s elections, where nearly every Democratic led state shifted red, voters appeared to want change from the status quo.
A large majority of voters who said they were angry supported Sherrill, saying they were unhappy with how things were going on in the country. New Jersey has never elected a governor from the same party in three cycles in a row.
Record turnout helps propel Mamdani
More than 2 million voters turned out Tuesday in New York City, the first time a mayoral election crossed that threshold since 1969.
Mamdani collected over 1.03 million votes as of 10 p.m. Tuesday, which is larger than the population of five states, according to U.S. Census figures.
The New York turnout mirrored the increased turnout seen during an off-year election.
Historic wins for Muslim candidates
Mamdani and Virginia Lt. Gov.-elect Ghazala Hashmi both made history as the first Muslim Americans elected to their respective offices.
Both had faced anti-Islamic attacks from their opponents and critics from around the country.
Wins sends message to Trump
Trump got indirectly involved in the three races, especially New York City, as he tried to maintain and grow the GOP’s influence following his win.
The president was particularly tied to the New Jersey race as Republican Jack Ciattarelli vocally embraced and welcomed Trump’s support, despite the president’s low approval ratings.
Sherrill took several opportunities to criticize Trump while looking to tie the president and Ciattarelli tightly together. Mamdani and Spanberger also tied their opponents to Trump’s influence.
Mamdani also addressed Trump directly during his victory speech.
“I have four words for you, turn the volume up,” he mayor-elect said to a roar of supporters’ cheers.
The president reacted angrily to the wins on social media, arguing that the ongoing government shutdown and the fact that he was not on the ballot as the reasons Republicans lost.
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