Democrat Mikee Sherrill won election as governor of New Jersey, denying Republicans what looked like their best chance to score an off-year election victory.
Projections showed Sherrill would handily defeat Republican Jack Ciattarelli, who nearly pulled off an upset over incumbent Democrat Phil Murphy four years ago.
Ciattarelli leaned into his support from Donald Trump, but that may have ended up being a liability as the president canceled funding for the Gateway Tunnel project as punishment for Democrats role in the shutdown of the government.
Sherrill, a Navy veteran and congresswoman, was for a time viewed as vulnerable, as polls showed a tight race and voter dissatisfaction with the state of the state, controlled by Democrats.
But the story in the handful of states that held elections on Tuesday was of Democratic overperformance.
PREVIOUSLY, 4:55 PM: In the first high-profile election since Donald Trump’s vengeance filled return to office, Democrats have recaptured the state of Virginia.
In a widely anticipated win, ex-Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger beat current Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears to become the first female Governor of the Commonwealth. Flipping the state from one-time GOP rising star Glenn Youngkin, Spanberger could be serving as the bellwether for what has been widely touted as a referendum on Trump.
As the polls closed in the DC adjacent Virginia, CNN’s Jake Tapper just after 4 pm PT said the race was initially “too close to call.” Still, as the Warner Bros. Discovery-owned cable newser, held its verdict, exit polls indicated a blow-out for former CIA officer Spanberger.
NewsNation’s Decision Desk HQ called the Virginia race first at just after 4:30 pm PT. MSNBC and NBC News declared Spanbeger the “projected winner” at 4:53 pm PT. CNN followed at 4:55 pm PT with Fox News next to say the data indicates a likley double digit win for Spanberger.
Over on the soon not-to-be MSNBC, where Ali Velshi took over the big board from Steve Kornacki, Rachel Maddow put it bluntly, calling Tuesday’s vote a “high-stakes night for an off-year election.”
Along with Spanberger’s expected win, the real drama in the Mother of Presidents for pundits was the fate of Democratic Attorney General candidate Jay Jones, who was mired in a poll plateauing violent text message scandal several weeks. The latest results have Jones ahead of Republican incumbent Jason Miyares by a nose – a very small nose. Also in play is the Virginia House, which looks to be leaning towards the Dems.
Former Trump chief of staff and frequent Frank Underwood cosplayer Mark Meadows told Fox News’ Laura Ingraham that he didn’t see tonight’s votes in Virginia, New Jersey, New York City and the redistricting Proposition 50 in California “as a referendum on Trump.”
Getting specific to Virginia, where 47% of likely voters said in one poll that Trump wasn’t a major factor, Meadows took a swing at disgruntled and unpaid federal employees who live in the northern part of the state, many hit hard by what is now looking to be the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. Calling Spanberger “a radical leftist”, the ex-WH CoS praised the two-term Congresswoman as “an excellent retail politician,” which is about as bipartisan as it can get in America 2025.
Both Spanberger and Garden State Democratic contender Rep. Mikie Sherrill saw Barack Obama join them on the hustle this past weekend.
Back with a jab rarely seen since 2008, the 44th POTUS took on the 45th and 47th POTUS, but also laid into media consolidation and knee bending – without naming names. “I worry about the growing concentration of economic power in this country, with just a handful of mega billionaires and companies controlling what we see and what we hear,” Obama told crowds in Norfork, VA and Newark, NJ on November 1.
With what appears to be heavier than usual Democratic turnout, polls in New Jersey are set to close at 5 pm PT, followed by NYC at 6 pm PT and the Golden State at 8 pm PT. Having essentially bet his own political future on Prop 50 passing, California Gov. Gavin Newsom is expected to address supporters Tuesday, though details are scant on where and when.
Barack Obama (R) speaks while campaigning for Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate, former Rep. Abigail Spanberger (L) during a campaign rally in the Chartway Arena on Nov. 01, 2025 in Norfolk, VA. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
PREVIOUSLY, 3:08 PM PT: The off-year elections feature major races in just a handful of states, but networks are deploying midterm-level coverage, seeing it not just as an indicator of the future of the Democratic Party but a referendum on Donald Trump.
Fox News, CNN and MSNBC featured countdown clocks to the first poll closings in Virginia at 7 p.m. ET, while revealing some results of exit polls.
One of the questions highlighted on CNN in races in New Jersey and Virginia: Was one of your reasons for your vote to support or oppose Trump, or was it not a factor? Far more said oppose than support, albeit majorities said he was not a factor.
“There’s only so much a candidate can outrun a president who is underwater, who is an albatross around their neck,” CNN’s Jake Tapper said after the results were revealed.
On Fox News, panelists on The Five focused heavily on one of the signature races of the night, as Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani faces independent Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa in the race for New York mayor. Other races also were discussed, with a chyron, “Democrats want to make races all about Trump.” MSNBC’s read, “Trump’s agenda put to the test in off-year elections.”
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Like past election nights, networks are capitalizing on the expected attention to the races, even if just four states have major contests. In addition to the New York mayor’s race, voters will decide on the governorships in Virginia and New Jersey and on a redistricting proposition in California.
The broadcast networks are planning extensive coverage on their streaming platforms, while the elections marked the first major news event since CNN debuted the All Access service, providing subscribers with feeds of the main network and CNN international that largely mirrors the linear channels. The exception is a streaming-only “livecast” with Harry Enten and guests including Charlamagne tha God and Ben Shapiro.
MSNBC’s coverage, led by Rachel Maddow, will mark the final election night at 30 Rockefeller Center, and even for the network’s name. A rebranding campaign will be launched during the evening to the slogan, “We the People.”
RELATED: MSNBC’s Election Coverage To Feature Debut Of Ad Campaign To Introduce New Name MS NOW
Coverage will also be found across an array of other channels, including PBS, NewsNation, C-SPAN and Newsmax, as well as upstarts like a Decision Desk 2025 livestream featuring two legacy media veterans who have gone on to the digital realm: Chuck Todd and Chris Cillizza.
Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York, was planning coverage on Lindell TV followed by coverage on X and other social media platforms.
Trump did not campaign in Virginia or New Jersey and only weighed in on the New York mayor’s race from time to time, finally endorsing Cuomo on Monday. “You really have no choice,” Trump said, as he has branded Mamdani a “communist” and a vote for Guardian Angels founder Sliwa as futile.
RELATED: Donald Trump Urges New Yorkers To Vote For Andrew Cuomo For Mayor Over Zohran Mamdani And Curtis Sliwa: “You Really Have No Choice”
He also has threatened California and Proposition 50, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s response to Trump’s efforts to get states to redistrict so as to boost GOP chances in next year’s midterms. “All ‘Mail-In’ Ballots, where the Republicans in that State are ‘Shut Out,’ is under very serious legal and criminal review. STAY TUNED!” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday.
But Newsom has cast the proposition — which would redraw districts to favor more Democrats — as an up or down vote on Trump. “Donald Trump is already doing everything he can to suppress the vote,” Newsom said in a video message posted on X, noting that the president has sent federal agents to monitor polling sites “to intimidate and chill free expression.”
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