Blue Tsunami

Democrats Sweep Elections Nationwide, Prefiguring End To Trump Rule

Democrats easily won the four most high-profile contests on Nov 4—and much, much more—often making history in the process. New York City, Virginia, New Jersey and California led the way. There were 13 statewide races, and Democrats won every one, several by more than 20 points.

Zohran Mamdani became the first Muslim mayor of New York City, winning more than 1 million votes for the first time since 1969. In Virginia, Abigail Spanberger was elected the first woman governor in Virginia history, while Ghazala Hashmi was elected Lt. Governor, becoming the first female Muslim elected to an American statewide office. Hashmi was first inspired to run for office by Trump’s 2017 Muslim travel ban. In New Jersey, Mikie Sherrill became the first Democratic female governor, winning a third straight term for the Democrats, which no party has done since 1961. And here in California, Prop 50 passed overwhelmingly, allowing redistricting to respond to the Texas redistricting ordered by Trump.

Democrats also won 13 GOP-held seats in the Virginia House of Delegates, turning a narrow 51-49 majority into a near supermajority (a level not seen since the 1980s) and setting the stage for congressional redistricting in that state as well. Virginia statewide margins were also indicative of a congressional blue wave next year, following the pattern of the last several cycles. In Georgia Democrats won two seats for public service commissioner by 24 points, their first statewide wins since 2006. In Pennsylvania all three Democratic state supreme court judges won their retention elections, putting an end to fears of GOP election shenanigans there at least until 2029, while Philadelphia progressive prosecutor Larry Krassner won a landslide re-election. And in Mississippi, Democrats won a state senate seat, ending the GOP supermajority for the first time since 2013. In Maine a MAGA voter suppression amendment was defeated, while a red-flag amendment passed, making it easier for family members to petition a court to restrict a potentially dangerous person’s access to guns.

Democrats also won a wide range of important local races, gaining control of longtime strongholds like Erie County, Pennsylvania and Onondaga County in upstate New York, which Democrats haven’t won since the 1970s. They also won school board elections in Pennsylvania, Colorado and Texas that were key to MAGA resurgence after the J6 insurrection. Tellingly, they swept the Central Bucks School District races, getting rid of the last of the Republicans on the body where the 2020s anti-trans school board movement was born. An ICE-friendly sheriff was also defeated in the county, as part of a Democratic sweep of Bucks Country offices.

“The sun may have set over our city this evening, but, as Eugene Debs once said, I can see the dawn of a better day for humanity,” Mamdani said in his victory speech. “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.”