A MART脥NEZ, HOST:
In California, New York, Virginia and New Jersey, Democrats are declaring yesterday's election results a repudiation of President Trump.
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Republicans suffered losses in major races that include two of the first statewide contests since Trump returned to the White House. Former U.S. Navy helicopter pilot and Democratic Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill won the governorship in New Jersey.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
MIKIE SHERRILL: We take oaths to a Constitution, not a king.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: That's right.
SHERRILL: We've chosen liberty, the very foundation of democracy, and we've chosen prosperity necessary to create opportunity for all.
FADEL: She beat the Trump-backed candidate, Republican Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli. In her victory speech, Sherrill said she would keep fighting the president's policies.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
SHERRILL: So, New Jersey, to quote The Boss, the future is now. Roll up your sleeves. Let your passion flow. The country we carry in our hearts is waiting.
(CHEERING)
MART脥NEZ: Virginia's Abigail Spanberger, who in fact once shared an apartment with Mikie Sherrill on Capitol Hill, will become the first woman to lead the Commonwealth.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
ABIGAIL SPANBERGER: We sent a message to the whole world that in 2025, Virginia chose pragmatism over partisanship.
(CHEERING)
SPANBERGER: We chose our Commonwealth over chaos.
(CHEERING)
MART脥NEZ: Spanberger is a former CIA analyst who served three terms in the U.S. House. She defeated the state's Republican lieutenant governor, Winsome Earle-Sears.
FADEL: In New York, Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani also secured a commanding win in the mayoral race in America's biggest city to be its first Muslim mayor, first South Asian and its youngest mayor in generations. His victory speech had a message of hope and belonging.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
ZOHRAN MAMDANI: New York will remain a city of immigrants, a city built by immigrants...
(CHEERING)
MAMDANI: ...Powered by immigrants...
(CHEERING)
MAMDANI: ...And, as of tonight, led by an immigrant.
(CHEERING)
MAMDANI: So hear me, President Trump, when I say this. To get to any of us, you will have to get through all of us.
FADEL: He galvanized voters by running a deft internet campaign and having a clear message of affordability. More than 2 million New Yorkers turned out to vote for the first time since 1969. More than a million chose Mamdani. He beat former Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent and was backed by President Trump, and Republican Curtis Sliwa. Mamdani dealt with bigoted attacks throughout his campaign for his faith. He was also labeled a communist by his opponents and criticized for his stand on Israel.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
MAMDANI: The conventional wisdom would tell you that I am far from the perfect candidate. I am young, despite my best efforts to grow older.
(LAUGHTER)
MAMDANI: I am Muslim.
(CHEERING)
MAMDANI: I am a Democratic socialist.
(CHEERING)
MAMDANI: And most damning of all, I refuse to apologize for any of this.
(CHEERING)
MART脥NEZ: Here in California, a ballot initiative to redraw congressional districts in Democrats' favor also succeeded, with the help of a $120 million war chest amassed by Governor Gavin Newsom.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
GAVIN NEWSOM: We stood tall and we stood firm in response to Donald Trump's recklessness. And tonight, after poking the bear, this bear roared, with unprecedented turnout in a special election with an extraordinary result.
FADEL: Those were some of the sounds and reactions from last night's elections. And to put it all into context, Larry Sabato is on the line. He's a political analyst and the Robert Kent Gooch professor of politics at the University of Virginia. Sabato is also the founder of and director of the Center for Politics, which promotes civic engagement and participation. Welcome to the program. Good morning.
LARRY SABATO: Thank you. Good morning.
FADEL: So these are the first major elections to take place since President Trump won reelection a year ago. Now, Trump wasn't on the ballot, but he was very present in all of these elections. What do the results say about how voters feel about the president and his administration?
SABATO: Well, first, it was a Democratic landslide. There's simply no question about it. The New Jersey governor's race, according to several polls, was supposed to be very close and on the edge of an upset by the Republican candidate, and in fact, it turned into a landslide and an even larger landslide in Virginia for Abigail Spanberger, the first woman governor of Virginia - or governor-elect, at least, and the entire Democratic ticket was swept in and a massive 64 Democrats elected to the House of Delegates. They only had 51 before the election. And California, as you mentioned, with Proposition 50. The point is simply this - these are blue-leaning localities, no question about it.
FADEL: Right.
SABATO: So you can't take too much away from the Republicans or from Trump's coalition. But it's pretty obvious that Democrats got a tremendous boost of enthusiasm and energy with these victories. Nothing cures illness like success.
FADEL: Now, what was behind what ignited voters across the country? Like you said, they're blue-leaning, not a total surprise, but a lot of these wins were much bigger than expected.
SABATO: Yes, and that's an important element of this. You look to see what the margins are, and the margins were far beyond what had been projected in advance or what even Democratic officials thought they would get. The reason is Donald Trump. It's affordability, yes, as everyone's stressed, but it's mainly Donald Trump. You look at the exit poll, you can see how incredibly unpopular he's become in the states and localities that had elections yesterday.
FADEL: Now, will this impact Republican strategy and President Trump's strategy going forward looking at what voters did last night?
SABATO: Well, it'll be interesting to see if it has an impact on the shutdown, maybe encouraging a compromise at last. For President Trump, I think we all know that while he may make some small changes, he's not one for turning, and he's unlikely to change the basic drift of his administration. Of course, that may be good for Democrats.
FADEL: What is the signal, though, ahead of next year's midterms? I mean, does this mean something bigger when it comes to 2026?
SABATO: Well, we're all going to pretend it does because that's what we do.
FADEL: (Laughter).
SABATO: We analyze elections, and we pretend to know what's going to happen a year from now. But the truth is the headlines will change so many times between now and the midterm elections in November of 2026. However, it does suggest that Trump's very dramatic actions to expand presidential power and, at least from critics, a belief that we're moving down the authoritarian highway is having an effect, at least on Democrats. It's motivating them to turn out in large numbers and to vote in anti-Trump line.
FADEL: There were very different candidates on the ballots - right? - that won. When you look at Spanberger and Sherrill, who won for governorships in Virginia and New Jersey, they're seen as moderate candidates. In New York, the breakout star of this election was a Democratic socialist - a progressive who was unapologetic about that fact. They all had a message of affordability, but they messaged very differently. Which of these political types is the future of the party?
SABATO: Well, the future for the near term is certainly Sherrill and Spanberger, the two moderate Democrats who were elected governors of two important states, because they showed how it can be done on a broad scale. This is not to diminish Mamdani's victory in New York City, but New York is a bit different. Those of us who have been around for a while know that you don't look to New York City to set the national standard, but you can look to states like New Jersey and Virginia to do so.
FADEL: Interesting. You know, as we think about last night's elections, the approval ratings for Democrats in Congress, generally, is quite low. I mean, what do Democrats have to do to win back some of the voters that they have lost in recent years, and what can they learn from what happened last night?
SABATO: All three of the big winners - Mamdani, Sherrill and Spanberger - have an important thing in common. They are youthful and energetic. And Mamdani, certainly, is charismatic, and I think to some degree, Spanberger is, too. That's a combination you don't see very often in the Democratic Party - not as often as they need. And that's because the leadership, as we all know, has gotten older.
FADEL: So are you saying some of the older leadership - establishment leadership - should be stepping aside to make way?
SABATO: Yes. In a word, yes. I think most Democrats would agree with that.
FADEL: Now that California, the country's most populous state, has voted for redistricting, where does this leave the fight to change congressional maps across the country?
SABATO: The big picture is the Republicans are going to win that battle. They may not win the war, but they're going to win that battle because they have many more states with Republican governors and legislatures that will follow the instructions they're given by Trump and the White House, and they've done so. But Democrats are now fighting back. And the California victory, which was enormous - 62, 63%...
FADEL: Yeah. With 7 million voters.
SABATO: ...It approached 2-1. Yeah. I mean, it's pretty incredible. That has given Democrats new momentum, new energy and a resolve to at least counteract the Republican effort to the extent they can. So instead of Republicans gaining 12 or 13 additional seats through gerrymandering, maybe they will net only six or seven or eight. That still isn't good news for Democrats, but it's better than alternative.
FADEL: Well, what's the news for democracy if each party just gerrymanders its way to power?
SABATO: Oh, I think that this is a disaster all the way around. It was initiated by Trump and the White House using Texas. They knew they could get Texas to fall in line, and they pressured a bunch of other states to do the same thing.
FADEL: Larry Sabato is a political analyst and the Robert Kent Gooch professor of politics at the University of Virginia. Thank you so much for your time and your insights.
SABATO: Thank you very much.
(SOUNDBITE OF ONRA'S "WHERE I'M FROM") Transcript provided by 91制片厂, Copyright 91制片厂.
91制片厂 transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an 91制片厂 contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of 91制片厂鈥檚 programming is the audio record.
