WASHINGTON / NEW YORK/ ANKARA
The Democrats in the US secured victories in all four major election contests on Tuesday, building momentum for the 2026 midterms.
The party won the New York City mayoral race, the governor’s races in New Jersey and Virginia, and California’s Proposition 50 on redistricting, marking their first major electoral wins since President Donald Trump began his second term this January.
Mamdani elected New York City’s first Muslim mayor
Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor of New York City, becoming the first Muslim and South Asian to hold the office, according to a projection by The Associated Press.
Mamdani, 34, defeated independent candidate and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa in a historic victory for the Democratic party’s progressive wing.
Mamdani holds over 50% of the vote in the three-way contest with 91% of the votes counted.
"We will usher in a generation of change, and if we embrace this brave new course, rather than fleeing from it, we can respond to oligarchy and authoritarianism with the strength it fears, not the appeasement it craves. After all, if anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that gave rise to him," Mamdani said, drawing cheers from supporters at the Paramount Theater in Brooklyn.
"If there is any way to terrify a despot, it is by dismantling the very conditions that allowed him to accumulate power. This is not only how we stop Trump, it's how we stop the next one. So Donald Trump, since I know you're watching, I have four words for you: 'Turn the volume up,'" he added as the crowd roared.
Mamdani told his supporters he will work to build unity among New Yorkers and "refuse to allow those who traffic in division and hate to pit us against one another."
"We will build a City Hall that stands steadfast alongside Jewish New Yorkers, and does not waver in the fight against the scourge of anti-Semitism, where the more than 1 million Muslims know that they belong, not just in the five boroughs of this city, but in the halls of power. No more will New York be a city where you can traffic in Islamophobia and win an election," he said.
Trump had sought for months to intervene in the contest, endorsing Cuomo after appealing to Sliwa to step aside in the hopes of boosting the former governor's electoral prospects.
He had threatened to cut off federal funding for New York City if Mamdani, whom he derides as a "communist," emerged victorious in the contest.
Mamdani, an avowed democratic socialist, ran campaign focused on affordability and social services, promising free buses, universal childcare, city-run grocery stores, rent-stabilized housing and a plan to raise the minimum wage to $30 per hour by 2030 from $16.50 currently.
All of this would be paid for, he said, by raising the corporate tax rate to 11.5% -- the same as in neighboring New Jersey -- as well as a 2% income tax on those earning over $1 million per year.
He also pledged that he would order the New York Police Department (NYPD) to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should he enter the city, citing the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant against him over war crimes in Gaza.
Spanberger wins Virginia governorship, flipping state to Democrats
Abigail Spanberger won the Virginia governor’s race, beating Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears to flip the state to Democrat and become the first woman to hold the position.
With 97% votes counted, Spanberger won the 57.5% of the votes while Earle-Sears got 42.3%, according to the latest data by AP. Trump had lost Virginia by six points to then-Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 race.
The result handed Democrats a significant victory ahead of key midterm elections in 2026 as the 46-year-old former lawmaker and CIA official will replace outgoing Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin following an economy-focused campaign.
"The history Virginia is making tonight," said Spanberger.
"We sent a message to the whole world that in 2025, Virginia chose pragmatism over partisanship. We chose our Commonwealth over chaos. You all chose leadership that will focus relentlessly on what matters most," she told supporters in Richmond after Election Day polls closed.
Spanberger said her campaign earned votes from Democrats, Republicans and independents.
"I thank you for the trust that you have placed in me, and it is the honor of my lifetime to be elected the 75th governor," she said.
Sherrill wins New Jersey governor’s race
Meanwhile, representative Mikie Sherrill won New Jersey's election for governor, marking the second Democratic victory in two bellwether states holding off-year gubernatorial races.
Sherrill, a four-term congresswoman, defeated Jack Ciattarelli, the Republican candidate who had President Donald Trump's backing but lost his third attempt at the governor's office.
The result places the US Navy veteran in line to succeed sitting Gov. Phil Murphy, also a Democrat, who is barred from reelection due to New Jersey term limits.
California voters approve new congressional map meant to help Democrats in midterms
Voters in the heavily Democratic state of California also approved a new congressional map that is intended to counter an effort led by Trump to bolster Republican chances in next year's midterm elections.
Proposition 50 was put forward by Gov. Gavin Newsom in response to an earlier effort in the Republican-led state of Texas to flip five House seats in next year's critical national contest.
Prop 50, known as the "Election Rigging Response Act," seeks to counter Texas' midcycle redistricting by redrawing district lines to give Democrats a chance to win five additional seats in the western state's congressional delegation.
The Associated Press declared the ballot measure approved at 11 pm Eastern Time, the same time polls closed in California, an indication that the final tally is expected to be in favor. Some 64. 1% of voters cast their ballots in favor of Prop 50, with 69% of votes counted.
The effort comes as Trump seeks to maintain Republican control of the House during the final two years of his presidency. The party in power, in this case Republicans, typically loses seats in Congress during midterm election cycles.
Redistricting is normally done every 10 years following a census.
