Headline Roundup • November 5th, 2025
Democrats Dominate Key 2025 Election Day Races
Elections,Pennsylvania,New Jersey,Virginia,New York,New York City,California,Philadelphia,Politics,Democratic Party,Republican Party,Independent Party,Donald Trump
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Democrats won most of the nation’s most-watched elections on Tuesday, which many media outlets framed as a referendum on President Donald Trump’s second term so far.
New Jersey: Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D) won the Governorship, defeating politician and businessman Jack Ciattarelli (R) by 13 points. The result pours cold water on the idea that New Jersey was turning red after Trump delivered a surprisingly strong result in the state in 2024.
California: Voters approved Proposition 50, a measure backed by Governor Gavin Newsom (D), which will temporarily establish new congressional district maps. The maps are expected to create up to five additional Democrat-controlled seats in the US House.
Pennsylvania: Democrats retained a 5-2 majority in the state’s Supreme Court as all three liberal justices – David Wecht, Christine Donohue, and Kevin Dougherty – were retained for another ten-year term with around 64% of the vote. Additionally, progressive Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner (D) handily won a rematch of the city’s Democratic primary election earlier this year, defeating registered Democrat and former Judge Pat Dugan (R) with approximately 73% of the vote.
Virginia: Former Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D) was elected the state’s first female governor, defeating Lt. Governor Winsome Earle-Sears (R) by more than 15 points. Spanberger's win led a Democratic sweep of all three statewide offices, with her party also winning the Attorney General contest and the Lieutenant Governor race.
New York City: Self-described democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani (D) made history as the city's first Muslim mayor, defeating former Governor Andrew Cuomo (I) and Republican Curtis Sliwa (R). Mamdani won with 50.4% of the vote. President Trump had endorsed Cuomo, who received 41.6% of the vote.
How The Media Covered It: CNN (Lean Left bias) noted that the successful Democratic campaigns “had some things in common” and “were all fiercely critical of Trump’s performance.” Reuters (Center) said the positive results for Democrats give “the beleaguered party a shot of momentum ahead of next year's congressional elections.” Fox News (Right) prominently noted that Trump said Republicans were “not expected” to win on Tuesday and that “if you read the pollsters, the shutdown was a big factor – negative for the Republicans.”
Written by the AllSides staff (of humans). Learn more. Support our mission.
Featured Coverage of this Story
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday morning that the ongoing government shutdown was partly to blame for Republican losses on Election Day.
Trump told reporters during a breakfast with GOP lawmakers at the White House that election night on Tuesday "was not expected to be a victory," and provided the 36-day government shutdown as one of two possible reasons.
"I think, if you read the pollsters, the shutdown was a big factor," Trump said. "Negative for the Republicans, and that was a big factor."
Democrats swept a trio of races on Tuesday in the first major elections since Donald Trump regained the presidency, elevating a new generation of leaders and giving the beleaguered party a shot of momentum ahead of next year's congressional elections.
In New York City, Zohran Mamdani, a 34-year-old democratic socialist, won the mayoral race, capping a meteoric and unlikely rise from an anonymous state lawmaker to one of the country's most visible Democratic figures. And in Virginia and New Jersey, moderate Democrats Abigail Spanberger, 46, and Mikie Sherrill, 53, won...
Shannon Stapleton/Reuters
Voters up and down the East Coast delivered Democrats a sweep on Tuesday, electing candidates across the party’s ideological spectrum in a vivid show of discontent with President Donald Trump nearly a year into his second term.
In Virginia, moderate former Rep. Abigail Spanberger turned in the strongest Democratic performance in the state’s recent history as she coasted to victory. And in New Jersey, another moderate, Rep. Mikie Sherrill, busted apart the coalition Trump and her Republican rival, former state lawmaker Jack Ciattarelli, had put together to close the Garden...
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