Democrats enjoyed big wins in 2025’s two off-year gubernatorial elections, which many analysts say were heavily influenced by the second Trump administration’s tumultuous first year.
Virginia voters followed through on poll predictions, electing former Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D) who handily defeated Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears (R), 57% to 42%, in a race to succeed term-limited Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R).
In New Jersey, Rep. Mikie Sherill (D) defeated former state Assembly member Jack Ciattarelli (R) 56% to 43%, in a race polls said had been tracking closer. She will succeed term limited Gov. Phil Murphy (D). Ciattarelli had pledged to promote an “all-of-the-above” energy development policy but shares Trump’s anti-renewables fixation. Both also campaigned on lowering energy costs.
New York City Democratic voters turned out in force for Zohran Mamdani, enabliing the former state assembly memer to surpass the 50% vote total, with former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, running as an independent, gaining 41.6% and Republican Curtis Sliwa, 7.1%, by 10:30 PM, with 89% of votes reported. New Yorkers also supported two measures that are set to expedite affordable housing development.
Spanberger’s criticism of President Donald Trump’s policies and her pledges to address rising costs proved most effective in the state’s more populous areas, especially the Washington, D.C., suburbs, where federal government workforce reductions and the protracted shutdown have been acutely felt. During the campaign, she called for expanding clean energy programs in the state, and investing in efforts to increase maritime traffic at the Port of Virginia.
Earle-Sears did not receive Trump’s direct endorsement, but Spanaberger struck a bipartisan tone in her victory speech by vowing to listen to and work for those who voted for the Republican. “I know in my heart,” she said, “that we can unite for Virginia’s future, and set an example for the rest of the nation,” she said.
The Democrats’ success at the top of the Virginia ballot is expected to translate to several downballot races, with all 100 seats in the state’s House of Delegates up for election. Several pre-election forecasts predicted Democratic gains of as many as 10 seats in the chamber, where the party currently holds a 51-48 majority with one vacancy
