Across the U.S., Democrats dominated the Nov. 4 election, the first major election since the election of President Donald Trump. They won gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey, retained their 5-2 majority in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and secured key ballot measure wins across multiple states.
Pennsylvania retained its left-leaning supreme court majority after billionaire Jeffrey Yass funded Republican campaigns in an attempt to change the political makeup of the court, according to WHYY news. In addition to sustaining the court, Democrats won special elections in the state for seats in the superior and the commonwealth courts.
Some of the more consequential wins for Democrats were the passage of California’s Proposition 50, which follows similar legislation in Texas that redrew its district lines to the Republican gain of five congressional seats. The proposition temporarily redraws five of California’s red districts to make them more favorable for a blue swing during the 2026 midterms.
In the two gubernatorial races, Democrats swept the polls. Governor-elect Abigail Spanberg won by 15%, centering her campaign around Trump’s federal layoffs, government shutdown and tariffs as an attack on Virginia’s economy to position herself as pushback against the Trump administration.
Similar to Spanberg’s campaign strategy, Mikie Sherrill — New Jersey’s governor-elect — focused on the economy during the race, winning counties that voted Republican during the 2020 governor race.
The gubernatorial races represent a notable trend in the election: voters are increasingly basing their decisions on economic factors, with many previously red districts and counties supporting Democratic candidates and legislation. In California’s election, Fresno, Lake and Imperial counties overwhelmingly supported Prop. 50, even though Trump won these counties in the 2024 election.
In an energized New York mayoral race, Zohran Mamdani led a successful primary campaign and won the election on a platform focused on creating more affordable housing, expanding busing, improving childcare and increasing access to grocery stores. The race attracted over 2 million New York voters, a turnout the city has not experienced since 1969. Mamdani won over neighborhoods and young voters who made a shift to the right during the 2024 election.
Democrats have also made major wins in Georgia’s non-federal statewide election. Peter Hubbard and Alicia Johnson won 60% of the votes for the state’s public utility regulator.
Democrats swept in the first major general election since 2025; however, experts warn that most of these wins were in primarily blue states and that during off years, voter turnout is not as large.
