The Trump factor
He may not have been on the ballot, but President Trump was on the minds of voters in the 2025 elections.
He was a factor for many voters in each of the places where exit polls were conducted: Virginia, New Jersey, New York City and California. And more said their vote in these races was to oppose him, than support him.
These are historically Democrat-leaning places, and more voters here disapproved than approved of his overall job as president. They also found that his administration’s actions on immigration enforcement have gone too far.
New York City: Cost of living and bringing needed change
New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani won a decisive victory over former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on a campaign of affordability, and the cost of living was the most important issue to voters in New York City. Mamdani handily won the majority of voters who picked it. More specifically, he focused on the cost of housing, which seven in 10 voters in New York said was a major problem where they live, and he won among renters, who made up more than half of the electorate.
Voters who made up their minds in the last month of the campaign voted overwhelmingly for Cuomo, but it wasn’t enough to make up for the majority of voters who decided on Mamdani before October.
Cuomo led Mamdani among Jewish voters — most of whom said a candidate’s position on Israel was important in their vote.
Mamdani’s coalition was led by enormous support among voters under 30 and very liberal voters, but his support extended to all voters under 45 and to those who considered themselves only somewhat liberal, while older voters, as well as moderates and conservatives, voted for Cuomo.
The Republican candidate in the New York City mayoral race, Curtis Sliwa, came in a distant third and didn’t even win self-identified Republicans (they voted for Cuomo). Had he dropped out of the race, it might not have made a difference. Though most of Sliwa’s supporters said they would have voted for Cuomo, exit polls indicate that in a hypothetical two-way race, Mamdani still would have been victorious.
Mamdani also ran on change, and that was picked as the most important quality in how voters made their decision. A changing electorate was also a hallmark of Mamdani’s win — his strongest support was not just young voters, but also those who were voting in a mayoral race for the first time and those who had moved to New York within the past 10 years.
New Jersey and Virginia: The economy, women voters
Economic issues also loomed large in the Democratic wins in the gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia. In New Jersey, Jack Ciattarelli won voters who were most concerned about taxes and who said electricity was a major problem for them, but voters who said the most important issue was the economy overall voted for Sherrill. In Virginia, those “economy” voters voted for Abigail Spanberger over Winsome Earle-Sears by more than 20 points.
Women voted in big numbers for the women Democratic candidates in Virginia and New Jersey. Sherrill and Spanberger’s margins with women were far larger than Kamala Harris’ were nationally in 2024.
Independents were key, too. They swung toward Spanberger in Virginia, after Glenn Youngkin won them in 2021. Independents also backed Sherrill in New Jersey.
California Prop 50: Getting back at Republicans’ plans
The proposition, pushed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, authorizes temporary changes to the state’s congressional district maps in response to redistricting in Texas.
“Yes” voters didn’t necessarily think this ballot initiative was the best way to draw congressional district line — but they overwhelmingly said it was to counter the changes made by Republicans in other states.
Polls may have updated since this post was published.
The post Here’s what CBS News exit polls told us about the 2025 elections appeared first on CBS News.
