Democrats Sweep With Big Wins in New York, Virginia and New Jersey

Summary

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WSJ What’s News - November 5, 2025

Episode Title: Democrats Sweep With Big Wins in New York, Virginia and New Jersey
Host: Caitlin McCabe | The Wall Street Journal
Key Guests: Aaron Zitner (WSJ Editor for Political Polling), Annie Lynskey (WSJ Reporter)

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Episode Overview

This episode dives into the significant Democratic victories in key 2025 elections across New York, New Jersey, and Virginia, analyzing the implications for both parties. The show also briefly covers the ongoing government shutdown, developments surrounding SNAP benefits, and top business news, including updates from Orsted, Toyota, and Novo Nordisk.

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Main Election Results & Key Themes

New York City: Zoran Mamdani’s Historic Win

• Zoran Mamdani, a 34-year-old Democratic Socialist, is elected as New York City’s 111th mayor, defeating former Governor Andrew Cuomo.
• Mamdani’s campaign emphasized progressive policies:
  • Rent freezes
  • Fare-free buses
  • Universal childcare
  • Funded by a 2% millionaire tax and increased taxes on businesses
• New York saw its highest voter turnout since 1969, with Mamdani capturing just over 50% of the vote.

Notable Quote:

"New York, tonight you have delivered a mandate for change, a mandate for a new kind of politics, a mandate for a city we can afford, and a mandate for a government that delivers exactly that."
— Zoran Mamdani at victory speech [01:26]

• Despite fierce opposition from Wall Street (Bill Ackman reportedly spent $2M trying to defeat Mamdani), some business leaders, including Ackman, congratulated Mamdani and offered support post-election.
• Progressive vision stressed:

  "This will be an age where New Yorkers expect from their leaders a bold vision of what we will achieve rather than a list of excuses for what we are too timid to attempt. Central to that vision will be the most ambitious agenda to tackle the cost of living crisis that this city has seen since the days of Fioro LaGuardia."
  — Zoran Mamdani [02:19]

New Jersey & Virginia: Commanding Democratic Victories

• New Jersey: Mikie Sherrill (D) beats Jack Cittarelli (R) by 13 points.
• Virginia: Abigail Spanberger (D) defeats her GOP opponent by 15 points.
• Both candidates focused on:
  • The cost of living
  • National security backgrounds
  • Concerns about growing executive power

Notable Quotes:

"Here in New Jersey, we know that this nation has not ever been, nor will it ever be, ruled by kings."
— Mikie Sherrill (via Annie Lynskey) [03:38]

"Right now, our federal workforce is under attack and the chaos coming out of Washington is killing Virginia jobs and creating economic uncertainty for tens of thousands of families..."
— Abigail Spanberger (via Annie Lynskey) [04:03]

Trump & Republican Setbacks

• Donald Trump blames the government shutdown and his absence from the ballot for the GOP’s poor performance, lashing out on social media.
• Trump criticizes California’s Proposition 50 (approved by voters), which redraws Congressional maps to favor Democrats.

Analysis: Democratic Momentum and Republican Fractures

• Aaron Zitner observes Democrats overperforming expectations:

  "They're very big Democratic wins, and they're much bigger than most people expected, much bigger than polls suggested we would see."
  — Aaron Zitner [05:22]

• Zitner points to the “crushing” nature of GOP losses and notes internal GOP discussions about shifting strategy.

Trump's Shadow Over Local Elections

• Republican candidates struggled to separate from Trump’s low approval:

  "Republican candidates just couldn't outrun Donald Trump's approval ratings... in Virginia, it was 40%."
  — Aaron Zitner [05:52]

• Republican vote totals mirrored Trump’s approval numbers, signaling his drag on local campaigns.

Changing Voter Coalitions

• The 2024 GOP coalition (minority and young voters) appears to be fracturing:

  "That trend receded... Latino voters seem to have moved toward the Democratic Party... Young voters also shifted... Yesterday, they were favoring the Democratic Party by more than 30 points, another big vote swing."
  — Aaron Zitner [06:23]

• Specific example:

  • Passaic County, NJ (43% Hispanic): from Trump +3 in 2024 to Sherrill +15 in 2025.

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Additional Major Headlines & Political Updates

Government Shutdown & SNAP Benefits

• The government shutdown is the longest in history (36 days).
• Trump has called GOP senators to the White House, urging an end to the filibuster to reopen the government.
• Food stamp (SNAP) funding:
  • White House agrees to court order to use emergency funds for benefits.
  • Annie Lynskey notes that only 50% of monthly payments can be covered:

    "This is a finite amount of money in an emergency fund that won't be able to cover the full benefit... it appears that they will continue to receive some amount... but... there could be some delay..."
    — Annie Lynskey [09:20]

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Brief Business Headlines

• UPS plane crash in Kentucky: At least 7 killed; FAA and NTSB to investigate. [10:10]
• Orsted: Reports quarterly losses; previously hit by stop-work order on US wind project.
• Toyota: Raises profit guidance despite US tariffs.
• Novo Nordisk: Lowers profit forecast as Ozempic and Wegovy face more competition.

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Key Timestamps

• 00:40 — Top morning headlines
• 01:26 — Zoran Mamdani’s victory speech
• 02:47 — Wall Street reaction and turnout details
• 03:38 — Sherrill & Spanberger victory speeches
• 05:22 — Analysis by Aaron Zitner
• 06:23 — Changing demographics and voting patterns
• 09:20 — SNAP benefits and government shutdown update (Annie Lynskey Explains)
• 10:10 — UPS Kentucky crash, brief global business headlines

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Tone & Style

• Direct, analytical, and concise reporting
• Occasional passionate or emphatic moments, especially in victory speeches
• Clear focus on the implications for national politics and the shifting dynamics within both parties

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Memorable Moments

• Mamdani’s Victory Remarks — Calling for audacious policy and a “new kind of politics” [01:26, 02:19]
• Spanberger rallying embattled federal workers [04:03]
• Aaron Zitner’s clear assessment of a fracturing GOP coalition and unexpectedly strong Democratic gains [05:22–06:23]

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This summary captures the episode’s main analysis and insights, providing a comprehensive guide to both the 2025 election results and their broader significance for U.S. politics and policy.

Transcript

[Caitlin McCabe]

Why do over 50% of the Fortune 500 use elastic because of search AI? Search AI is Watsonnex chatting one on one with your business. It's also LGC and S turning real time context into real smart cities. Find out what Elastic can do for your business@elastic co search AI Democrats are starting to get their groove back after key election victories in New York, New Jersey and Virginia, Democrats have been struggling.

[Aaron Zitner]

For the last year to figure out how to regain their political footing given the dominance of Donald Trump. Well, tonight we learned that Republicans have a similar problem.

[Caitlin McCabe]

Plus, President Trump calls Republican senators to a White House breakfast meeting as the government shutdown becomes the longest in history. And Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk lowers its profit guidance amid intensifying competition for weight loss drugs. It's Wednesday, November 5th. I'm Caitlin McCabe for the Wall Street Journal and here is the AM edition of what's News, the top headline and business stories moving your world today. Democrats have a lot to celebrate this morning after sweeping victories in a series of crucial elections. Most prominently, 34 year old Democratic Socialist Zoran Mamdani cruised to victory to become New York City's 111th mayor, dealing a blow to former governor Andrew Cuomo.

[Zoran Mamdani]

New York tonight you have delivered a mandate for change, a mandate for a new kind of politics, a mandate for a city we can afford, and a mandate for a government that delivers exactly that.

[Caitlin McCabe]

The race had been closely watched due to Mamdani's progressive campaign promises that included rent freezes, fare free buses and universal childcare, which would be paid for with an additional 2% tax on millionaires and higher taxes on businesses. His candidacy turned out to be deeply energizing, with the city seeing its biggest voter turnout since 1969. With most votes counted, results showed Mamdani captured just over 50% of the vote.

[Zoran Mamdani]

This will be an age where New Yorkers expect from their leaders a bold vision of what we will achieve rather than a list of excuses for what we are too timid to attempt. Central to that vision will be the most ambitious agenda to tackle the cost of living crisis that this city has seen since the days of Fioro LaGuardia.

[Caitlin McCabe]

Wall street and business leaders mounted a fierce campaign against Mamdani, but some extended an olive branch as results came in. Hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman, who spent more than $2 million to stop Mamdani's win, congratulated him on social media and offered to help. Democrats also secured key victories in the New Jersey and Virginia governor's races with Virginia Democrat Abigail Spanberger beating her Republican opponent by roughly 15 percentage points. In New Jersey, Democrat Mikey Sherrill defeated Republican Jack Cittarelli by a comfortable 13 point margin. Both candidates had focused on the rising cost of living and touted their national security backgrounds in the face of growing executive power in the U.S. mikey Sherrill used her victory speech to repeatedly hit out at the Trump administration.

[Annie Lynskey]

Here in New Jersey, we know that.

[Caitlin McCabe]

This nation has not ever been, nor will it ever be, ruled by kings. Similarly, Spanberg blamed the government shutdown squarely on Congress, invoking loud cheers from the many federal workers present in the Virginia crowd. Right now, our federal workforce is under.

[Annie Lynskey]

Attack and the chaos coming out of Washington is killing Virginia jobs and creating.

[Caitlin McCabe]

Economic uncertainty for tens of thousands of families, government employees, government contractors, small business owners who are impacted by the chaos.

[Annie Lynskey]

Coming out of Washington.

[Caitlin McCabe]

Virginia's economy doesn't work when Washington treats.

[Annie Lynskey]

Our Virginia workers as expendable.

[Caitlin McCabe]

As results rolled in, Trump lashed out on social media, blaming the shutdown and the fact that he wasn't on the ballot for Republican losses. Earlier yesterday, he was critical of California's ballot measure to temporarily redraw the state's congressional maps in favor of Democrats, calling it, quote, a giant scam. California voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 50, putting Democrats in a position to potentially flip five seats in next year's midterms, countering Republican efforts in other states to redraw congressional maps taken together. Our editor for political polling, Aaron Zitner, says the sweep of Democratic victories are being seen as an upbeat sign for a deeply divided party ahead of next year's midterm elections.

[Aaron Zitner]

They're very big Democratic wins, and they're much bigger than most people expected, much bigger than polls suggested we would see. That's kind of where all of our analysis has to start, because it takes these elections out of the realm of being close and really being crushing defeats for the Republican Party and something that even Republicans are already saying they need to think about.

[Caitlin McCabe]

Aaron explains that for the Republican Party, it was a reckoning of Trump's outsized impact on local races.

[Aaron Zitner]

Republican candidates just couldn't outrun Donald Trump's approval ratings. In New Jersey, polling finds that Donald Trump had a 42% job approval rating among people who voted on Tuesday, and in Virginia, it was 40%. Those numbers are very low. And what happened to the Republicans? Their vote totals came in at just about the same levels.

[Caitlin McCabe]

Moreover, the results reveal that the coalition of Republican voters that brought about Trump's victory is fraying.

[Aaron Zitner]

When they came out of the 2024 election, the Republican Party, they were feeling good because they had won a big surge of minority voters, black, Latino, other minority voters, and a lot of young voters. Well, that trend receded. Latino voters seem to have moved toward the Democratic Party, and we see it in places like Passaic county in New Jersey, a 43% Hispanic county. Just last year. Donald Trump won that county largely on the vote shift that Latino voters presented. He won it by close to three points. But yesterday, Mikey Sherrill was leading in that county in almost final results by 15 points. Young voters also shifted to the Republican Party in 2024 and helped put Donald Trump in the White House. Yesterday, they were favoring the Democratic Party by more than 30 points, another big vote swing. So it suggests that at least in these two politically competitive states, at this moment, the coalition that helped put Donald Trump in the White House is fraying and Democrats have a chance to win these voters back.

[Caitlin McCabe]

For more analysis from Aaron and further updates throughout the day, go to WSJ.com for all of your election coverage. Coming up, a UPS cargo plane crashes shortly after takeoff in Kentucky, with authorities reporting fatalities and multiple injuries. We'll bring you that story and the rest of the day's news after the break. Hi, I'm Kelly Cavagnaro, managing director, head of North America Institutional Distribution at Janice Henderson Investors. We believe working together is the way to work better, like combining your portfolio plans and our in depth strategy, your valued assets and our valuable insights, your mission and our vision working in harmony to seek the right investment opportunities. JANICE henderson Investors Investing in a brighter future together. President Trump has invited all Republican senators to the White House this morning to discuss the continuing government shutdown as it enters its 36th day, the longest in US history. The meeting comes as Trump has been ramping up pressure on GOP lawmakers to end the filibuster as a way of bypassing Democrats to reopen the government. A key pressure point in the impasse has been the threat to food stamps or snap benefits. Yesterday, the White House said the Trump administration will comply with a court order to use emergency funds to pay for the federal food assistance program. That's after the president had posted on social media threatening to block the aid until Democrats voted to reopen the government. The Journal's Annie Lynskey explains where this leaves the roughly 42 million Americans who rely on these benefits.

[Annie Lynskey]

This would mean that beneficiaries will still receive food assistance, but Trump, his intention was to point to the fact that this is a finite amount of money in an emergency fund that won't be able to cover the full benefit. The Trump administration lawyers said in a filing on Monday that there's about 4.65 billion in the emergency funds and that's gonna cover cover roughly 50% of the monthly payments for eligible households. The SNAP benefits typically total about $8 billion a month for recipients. Well, there is a lack of clarity. It appears that they will continue to receive some amount of benefit going into November, but it's not clear that they will get the same level of benefit that they have in the past. And there could be some delay as the federal government is sorting through how to ration out the funding that's left.

[Caitlin McCabe]

A United Parcel Service plane crashed just after takeoff in Louisville, Kentucky yesterday afternoon. That's according to local officials, who added that at least seven people have been killed with several others injured. Two local businesses close to the airport were hit by the plane crash. Kentucky Petroleum Recycling and an auto salvage yard, Grade A Auto Parts. UPS hasn't confirmed any casualties or injuries of its three person crew on board the aircraft. The Federal Aviation Administration said the agency and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash. And as earnings season continues, Orsted has booked a loss over the most recent quarter, which was hit by a stoppage to a major US Wind project. President Trump in August ordered the company to stop work at its Revolution Wind project off the coast of Rhode island, though a court later reversed that order, allowing Orsted to restart. Meanwhile, Toyota saw stronger second quarter net profit and raised its sales and earnings guidance even as US Tariffs continue to pose challenges for the Japanese carmaker. And weight loss drug giant Novo Nordisk has lowered its full year profit forecast as intensifying competition, pricing pressure and copycat versions of its blockbuster Ozempic and Wegovy drugs hold back sales. For more on the hurdles facing big drug companies, check out our latest episode of what's News in Earnings. We've left a link in today's show notes. And that's it for what's news for this Wednesday morning. Today's show was produced by Kate Bullivant. Our supervising producer was Sandra Kilhoff. And I'm Caitlin McCabe for the Wall Street Journal. We'll be back tonight with a new show. Until then, thanks for listening.

[Aaron Zitner]

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