For embattled Democrats, a 'proof of life' sweep in NYC, NJ, VA and CA

Democrats sweep.

That's a headline we haven't seen in a while.

Democratic nominees crushed their opponents Nov. 4, not only in the New York City mayor's race but also in gubernatorial elections in Virginia and New Jersey. Voters also overwhelmingly approved a referendum in California to redraw congressional lines in an effort to make things harder for the GOP.

The victories weren't unexpected in states that all went Democratic in last year's presidential election. But record-setting turnout in New Jersey and a historic margin of victory in Virginia raised red flags for Republicans in general and President Donald Trump in particular.

The 2025 results stand as a sort of proof of life − a sign that even with no base of national power, no front-runner for the next presidential election, no consistent strategy against Trump and unprecedented low standings among voters, the Democratic Party hasn't been vanquished.

Now Abigail Spanberger is the governor-elect of Virginia − the first woman to win the job − and Mikie Sherrill is set to lead New Jersey after winning by double-digit margins. Zohran Mamdani, who received more than 1 million votes, will be the first Democratic socialist and the first Muslim to lead New York City.

And in a sign of rising Democratic combativeness, California has launched a process that will join the redistricting arms race Texas started at Trump's behest. It is designed to cost five Republican incumbents their seats and improve Democratic prospects of regaining control of the House of Representatives in the 2026 midterm elections.

When the stakes will be higher.

What was on voters' minds? The economy, stupid

The oddball collection of off-year elections was the first broad opportunity for voters to weigh in on Trump since his election a year ago. It also happened to fall as the latest government shutdown moved into record territory − edging past the 35-day mark set during Trump's first term.

What was on their minds?

It was the economy, stupid.

Despite differences in ideology, the three Democratic candidates all focused on kitchen-table issues − on the rising costs of housing, of health care, of energy. They blamed Trump for the government shutdown, a particularly potent issue in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, and accused him of failing to deliver his economic promises to the voters who elected him.

In New Jersey, Sherrill depicted her race against Republican Jack Ciattarelli as a referendum on the president. In Virginia, in her victory speech over Republican Winsome Earle-Sears, Spanberger declared to cheers: "My fellow Virginians, tonight we sent a message."

That's how voters saw it, too. In exit polls, a majority in those two states said they saw their vote as sending a message to Trump, whose approval rating was in negative territory, from 36% to 42%. Nearly two-thirds were unhappy with the direction of the country.

On social media, Trump had a different explanation for the GOP setback. "TRUMP WASN'T ON THE BALLOT," he said on Truth Social. That, and the shutdown.

The broad gains Spanberger and Sherrill scored included red territory.

Virginia's rural Spotsylvania County supported Trump by 9 percentage points in last year's election, for instance. It swung to the Democrat Spanberger by 2 points.

The margin in Virginia, the most for a Democratic gubernatorial candidate in modern times, was big enough to pull attorney general nominee Jay Jones over the finish line despite a late-breaking furor over texts he sent in 2022 that discussed shooting the Republican speaker of the House of Delegates.

Democrats are heading left. Or maybe down the middle.

Democrats are still struggling with record low approval ratings, with a sour assessment even from their own partisans.

In a Pew Research Center survey released as Election Day approached, 75% of Americans said they felt "frustrated" with the Democratic Party, including two-thirds of those who identified themselves as Democrats. Just 29% of Democrats said their party made them feel "proud."

The off-year victories didn't cut a clear path ahead. Progressives cheered the upstart victory by Mamdani, a 34-year-old New York assemblyman. Trump and other Republican leaders have wasted no time in portraying Mamdani as the face of a dangerously liberal Democratic Party.

Centrists saw a winning template in the election of more cautious centrists Spanberger and Sherrill. Both have national security backgrounds − Spanberger in the CIA, Sherrill in the Navy − and are so closely aligned that they were Capitol Hill roommates when both were serving together in the House of Representatives.

The Democrats' direction wasn't settled, a battle for another day as partisans savored the contrast to what happened a year earlier. Then, the sweep was for the GOP, when Republicans won the White House, regained control of the Senate and held the House.

The question now: Can Democrats do it again next year?