Democrat Mikie Sherrill won New Jersey’s election for governor on Tuesday, U.S. media projected, emerging victorious in a campaign that had drawn national attention from both parties as a crucial barometer of how voters are responding to Donald Trump’s presidency.
Her triumph came shortly after another moderate Democrat, Abigail Spanberger, easily won Virginia’s election for governor, becoming the first woman elected to serve in that role.
Across the river in New York City’s mayoral race, DDHQ also projected that Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, a 34-year-old democratic socialist, would beat 67-year-old Andrew Cuomo, the former governor who ran as an independent after losing to Mamdani in the primary. This race had yet to be called by other news outlets.
The trio of races offered the beleaguered Democratic Party a test of differing campaign playbooks a year ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, when control of Congress will be at stake. Since Trump’s win last year, Democrats have found themselves locked out of power in Washington and struggling to find the best path out of the political wilderness.
All three candidates emphasized economic issues, particularly affordability. But both Spanberger and Sherrill hail from the party’s moderate wing, while Mamdani campaigned as an unabashed progressive and a new generational voice.
Sherrill, a U.S. representative and former Navy pilot, defeated Republican Jack Ciattarelli and will succeed Democratic Governor Phil Murphy. It is the first time since the 1960s that New Jersey voters have elected governors from the same party for three consecutive terms.
Spanberger, who beat Republican Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears, will take over for outgoing Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin.
Both Sherrill and Spanberger had sought to tie their opponents to Trump in an effort to harness frustration among Democratic and independent voters over his chaotic nine months in office.
For Republicans, Tuesday’s elections were a test of whether the voters who powered Trump’s victory in 2024 will still show up when he is not on the ballot.
But Ciattarelli and Earle-Sears, each running in Democratic-leaning states, faced a conundrum: criticizing Trump risked losing his supporters, but embracing him too closely could have alienated moderate and independent voters who disapprove of his policies.
Trump remains unpopular: 57% of Americans disapprove of his job performance, a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed. But Democrats are not gaining support as a result, with respondents evenly split on whether they would favor Democrats or Republicans in 2026.
