Democrats’ proof of life

The beleaguered, battered and bewildered Democratic Party had a good week. It's been a long time since anyone has been able to say that. And it has given President Donald Trump and his Republican allies something to worry about.  

Democrats prevailed in the three high-profile races in the 2025 elections: The votes for governor in New Jersey and Virginia and the New York City mayoral contest. At the same time, voters in California approved a ballot measure that will allow the state to redraw congressional districts to favor Democratic candidates in next year's midterm elections. 

Trump also had to face the prospect of his sweeping tariff regime, the hallmark of his economic plan, being struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court. 

The outcomes on Election Day weren't necessarily a surprise. Both New Jersey and Virginia run more blue than purple – voters there tend to favor Democrats. But the margins of victory did raise some eyebrows, particularly among Republicans who expected the New Jersey race to be closer than it was.   

Democrat Mikie Sherrill, the candidate in that election, kept her focus squarely on cost-of-living issues, which polling had shown to be the number-one concern of residents. She pledged to freeze utility rates and bring down the cost of healthcare and housing. Sherrill won by more than a dozen percentage points over her Trump-endorsed challenger, Jack Ciattarelli.  

In Virginia, Democrat Abigail Spanberger followed a similar playbook, zeroing in on affordability. Her cause was furthered by the impact the government shutdown and Trump's federal job cuts have had on Virginia, which is highly dependent on federal dollars. She also won easily over her opponent, Winsome Earle-Sears, who Trump spurned, perhaps sensing that she was unlikely to win.  

The biggest news came in New York, not because of national import but because of the bolt-from-the-blue candidacy of Zohran Mamdani, who capped his unlikely mayoral bid with a convincing victory over independent Andrew Cuomo. Mamdani, a  democratic socialist, has presented his party with a thorny dilemma – either embrace a far-left rising political star whom Republicans have made their new favorite target or risk alienating young progressive voters they need to be viable in the future.  

Mamdani has attempted to be a unifying force since his win, but Wall Street and the city's financial sector remain jittery about him being handed the keys to America's most important and dynamic city.  

"I think the lesson for the president is that it's not enough to diagnose the crisis in working-class Americans' lives," Mamdani said at his first press conference as mayor-elect on Wednesday. "You have to deliver."  

In California, voters easily approved a redistricting measure that could gain Democrats five more seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. Its passage was a solid win for Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom, who has made it his mission to be Trump's national foil. Newsom is widely expected to run for president in 2028.  

Tuesday left a party that was in dire need of good news after last year's elections in a slight state of unexpected euphoria. But ending a losing streak doesn't suddenly make a team a title contender. Democrats remain saddled with unfavorable poll ratings nationally, and next year's midterms, which will determine control of Congress, still look to be an uphill climb. 

But the White House is paying attention. Trump blamed his party's losses on voters ticked off about the month-long government shutdown, but he has also blamed the shutdown on the Democrats – so his logic doesn't quite bear scrutiny. His political team says the real lesson is that voters are still feeling the pain of high consumer prices and will punish candidates who don't address their concerns. Expect Trump to talk a lot about that next year as he tries to keep his Republican Party in power in Congress.  

Adding to the uncertainty for Republicans is a potential ruling from the Supreme Court invalidating Trump's emergency tariffs as a misuse of presidential power. Justices expressed skepticism at oral argument this week that the import duties pass muster.  

Follow Reuters/Ipsos polling on the president's approval ratings here.

Mamdani's victory resonated with left-wing parties in Europe, providing hope that an unabashedly radical agenda could help turn the tide against right-wing forces on the continent. Zack Polanski, the leader of Britain's Green Party, said Mamdani's victory was "about saying, 'Let's lower people's bills and tax multimillionaires and billionaires.'" 

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