Democrats won a series of races in predominantly blue states on Nov. 4 during an off-year election marked by a government shutdown, a Democratic mayoral showdown, and controversial redistricting efforts.
The biggest news is the strong voter turnout that put relative newcomer and self-described democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani into the mayor’s office in New York City. He defeated former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat who ran as an independent.
Here is the breakdown on Election Day 2025.
Democrats Won Big in Key Races
In gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey, former Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) and Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.), respectively, prevailed with double-digit margins.
Republicans attempted to lower expectations earlier in the day, with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) telling reporters, “It won’t be a big surprise if the front-runners, the Democrats, the radicals, win some of these elections.”
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) said he disagreed with the idea that the election was a referendum on President Donald Trump’s performance.
“It’s all basically blue states,” he told The Epoch Times earlier in the day.
Although Democrats were favored in these races, the margins were significant, according to pollster James Lee.
“Anytime you get to 10 points or more, those are blowouts,” Lee, president of Susquehanna Polling and Research, told The Epoch Times. “And even though they’re Democratic states, both have elected Republicans to statewide office before.”
The outcomes were not unexpected by Aaron Dusso, chairman of the Department of Political Science at Indiana University–Indianapolis.
“In Virginia and in New Jersey, the Democrats win when they’re expected to win,“ Dusso told The Epoch Times. ”This is not surprising.”
This is because election results are driven largely by voters’ attitudes toward the sitting president, according to Dusso, who noted that Trump’s approval rating has been in the mid-40s for several weeks.
Voters Concerned About Prices, Affordability
As prices continue trickling upward and inflation stubbornly persists, many voters have expressed frustration over rising costs and compounding state taxes.
Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist, made affordability and rising costs central to his New York City campaign.
In Virginia, multiple voters told The Epoch Times that affordability was their central concern.
Autumn Lawson, who supported Democratic candidates up and down the ticket, said she wants to see the “over-taxation of Virginia stopped,” noting that state residents are being hit with high taxes on food and vehicles. She described the sales tax as “getting taxed twice.”
Democratic voter Siobhan, who did not provide her last name, said she favors Virginia’s income tax over the sales tax.
Marcelo Lorenzo, who works in the power-generating industry in Virginia and split his ticket this year, told The Epoch Times that the rising number of data centers concerns him. He said he fears that the world is growing at a rate that may outpace our control of it.
Record Turnout in New York City
New York City saw a historic turnout in its mayoral election, in which Mamdani prevailed with more than 50 percent of the vote.
Hours before polls closed, the New York City Board of Elections wrote on social media that the tally had already surpassed 1.75 million, which is the city’s highest participation rate since 1993.
That year, the city saw roughly 1.89 million ballots cast in its mayoral race, a slight increase from 1989.
Minutes before polls closed at 9 p.m. on Nov. 4, the board stated that New Yorkers had cast more than 2 million ballots in the mayoral race for the first time since 1969.
“I think that shows real enthusiasm for [Mamdani],” Lee said.
Mayoral races in New York City regularly drew more than 2 million voters between the 1930s and 1960s. Turnout has declined since; 1969 was the last year in which more than 2 million votes were cast in the mayoral race.
Voting, Firearms Ballot Measures Approved
Voters in multiple states backed an assortment of ballot measures on the night of Nov. 4, including measures on voting laws, firearm laws, and the redrawing of congressional districts.
Texans approved Proposition 15, which amends the state constitution to enshrine parents’ right “to exercise care, custody, and control of the parent’s child, including the right to make decisions concerning the child’s upbringing” and the responsibility “to nurture and protect the parent’s child.”
The state also passed a ballot measure that disallows noncitizens from voting in all statewide elections, including local races, not affected by the 1996 law that only allows U.S. citizens to vote in presidential and congressional contests.
Maine voters rejected a similar ballot measure that would have required residents to present a voter ID to cast a ballot and would have altered some of the state’s absentee ballot and drop box rules.
However, the state approved Question 2, which allows courts to temporarily prohibit a person from possessing dangerous weapons if “law enforcement, family, or household members show that the person poses a significant danger of causing physical injury to themselves or others.”
Colorado voters backed a measure that will lower some citizens’ tax deduction limits to generate funds for the state’s Healthy School Meals for All Program, which provides supplemental funds to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
This May End the Government Shutdown
With the election over, Republican leaders think that the federal government may reopen soon, and talks with their Democratic colleagues seem to confirm that possibility.
“We’re hoping this will be the week [the shutdown ends],” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said on Nov. 4.
Democrats have said the shutdown is about securing affordable health care for Americans, while Republicans have maintained that the Democrats’ primary aim is to publicly oppose the Trump administration.
“We’re hopeful that after today, the Democrats won’t be as concerned about holding the line in order to appease [the left wing] of their party,” House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) told reporters on Election Day.
Political analyst Henry Olsen agreed.
“Democrats no longer need this issue to motivate their swing voters to register opposition to Trump,” Olsen, senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, told The Epoch Times.
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) told The Epoch Times that he is “generally optimistic” about a resolution coming soon, while Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) told reporters that “the pace of talks has increased.”
Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), who has been named as a participant in some conversations across party lines, told reporters that “the hope” is that an end is in sight.
California Redistricting Will Affect 2026 Election
California voters approved Proposition 50, a proposal to temporarily redraw the state’s congressional district map in favor of Democrats for the 2026 elections.
The redistricting plan could add five Democratic seats.
The move will blunt Republican redistricting in four other states, which has produced a nine-seat swing in favor of the GOP in the next election. Those states are Ohio (two seats), North Carolina (one seat), Missouri (one seat), and Texas (five seats).
The Indiana Legislature will consider redistricting later in November, possibly adding another Republican seat.
“The approval rating of the incumbent president is the single most important factor in the outcome of off-year elections,” Olsen said. Even so, Proposition 50 could “dramatically improve the Democrats’ chances,” according to him.
Democrats will likely do well in the midterm elections if economic conditions remain the same, even with an overall loss due to redistricting.
“They should pick up 15 seats,” Dusso said. “So even if you give back five [because of redistricting], they could still win 10.”
Joseph Lord, Jackson Richman, Arjun Singh, and Nathan Worcester contributed to this report.