What Off-Year Races Could Mean for Democrats

“Democrats suffered a knockout punch in this month’s elections. New Jersey’s and Virginia’s off-year gubernatorial elections in 2025 offer them their first chances to get off the mat,” ABC News reports.

“Both states have become reliably blue in federal races, but President-elect Donald Trump narrowed his margins in each state, and Democrats are unable to take anything for granted as they undergo a postelection reckoning over their national brand. New Jerseyans haven’t granted one party more than eight straight years in the governor’s mansion in over five decades, and Republican Glenn Youngkin rode into Richmond just three years ago.”

“That makes the contests to replace term-limited Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, in New Jersey and Youngkin, who can’t run for two consecutive terms, in Virginia key barometers for Democrats’ ability to find their way out of the political wilderness ahead of the midterm elections in 2026.”