Virginia’s race for attorney general was thrown into the spotlight after revelations that Democratic attorney general candidate Jay Jonessent texts in which he fantasized about murdering a fellow lawmaker and their children. Jones is facing off against Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares, who is seeking reelection.
New Jerseyans will also select their next governor between former Republican Rep. Jack Ciatterelli and Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill.
New York City will decide its next mayor with three candidates left in the race: Democrat Zohran Mamdani, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo — who is running as an independent — and Republican Curtis Silwa.
2 days ago
Spanberger leans on Obama and Democratic star power in battle against Earle-Sears
Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate former Rep. Abigail Spanberger listens to former President Barack Obama speak during a campaign event on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, in Norfolk, Virginia. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
NORFOLK, Virginia — Former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee in Virginia, is leaning on Democratic heavyweights and rising stars in her party in the final weeks of the battle to succeed the term-limited Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
On Saturday, Spanberger appeared at the Ted Constant Convocation Center with former President Barack Obama, perhaps the most popular Democrat alive, for a high-spirited and packed rally that energized voters ahead of Tuesday’s election.
Obama spent much of his 30-minute speech excoriating President Donald Trump‘s second administration, touting Spanberger, and encouraging Virginians to cast a ballot in the election. The speech was reminiscent of the Obama who ran two successful presidential campaigns in 2008 and 2012 on a hopeful, inclusive nation that elected him as the first black commander in chief.
As voters headed to polls in northern New Jersey early Tuesday morning, bomb threats forced multiple polling locations to shut down and relocate in the town of Paterson.
At least two city schools were targeted by the bomb threats sent via phishing emails. Local officials believe the threats are false and unfounded.
As police inspected the locations for explosives, election officials sent voters to nearby polling locations to pick up provisional ballots. Paterson is about 20 miles from New York City.
The threats come as Democrat Sherrill and Republican Ciattarelli vie to become the governor of New Jersey. The victor will succeed Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, whose second and final term ends in January 2026.
1 minute ago
Reading the tea leaves: What the off-year elections could mean for Trump and the midterms
Republicans are bracing for Tuesday’s off-year gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia to be a rebuke of President Donald Trump before next year’s midterm contests.
But Tuesday’s New York City mayoral race will likely provide Trump and Republicans with political fodder as the GOP prepares to defend its congressional majorities in 2026.
Virginia Democratic gubernatorial nominee Abigail Spanberger is poised to win on Tuesday over her Republican opponent, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears. One day before their election, the former congresswoman was polling ahead of her GOP counterpart by an average of almost 9 percentage points.
COSTA MESA, Calif. — The Republican effort to defeat Proposition 50, a controversial redistricting ballot initiative in California, has been steadily losing steam, with GOP operatives telling the Washington Examiner they are bracing for a loss on Tuesday.
Republicans have been scaling back their television advertising, easing up their ground game, and focusing on a handful of counties they hope to turn. Democrats, meanwhile, have doubled down, blanketing the state with “Yes on 50” advertising, holding rallies that stretch from San Diego to San Francisco, and bringing in big Democratic names to get themselves over the finish line.
Former President Barack Obama, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), and Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) have cut ads in favor of the ballot measure, framing it as a fight against the Trump administration.
As American voters head for the polls on Tuesday, here is what’s on the ballot this election cycle.
In the high-profile gubernatorial races for Virginia and New Jersey, Democrats will test whether they can gain momentum ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
Former Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger will be vying for Virginia’s top spot in the executive branch against Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, who has still not gained an endorsement from President Donald Trump. Meanwhile, Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill will face Republican nominee Jack Ciattarelli in New Jersey.
In New York City’s mayoral election, Democratic frontrunner Zohran Mamdani will be challenged by independent candidate Andrew Cuomo and Republican contender Curtis Sliwa.
Three spots on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court are also up for election this Election Day. Justices Christine Donohue, Kevin Dougherty, and David Wecht, all of whom are Democrats, appear on the ballot in a retention election. Terms for state justices are 10 years.
California’s Proposition 50 is one ballot measure to watch closely, as it determines whether Democrats can proceed with their plan to set in motion the redistricting process in the state. The measure is intended to challenge Republicans’ efforts to redraw congressional maps in other states.
Other ballot measures include one in Maine on instituting absentee ballot and voter ID requirements and another in Texas on reinforcing parental rights for their children in the state constitution, among various other measures.
This off-year election is significant because it will determine whether the Republican Party has staying power past last year’s presidential election and whether the Democratic Party can gain ground on issues that concern voters before next year’s election cycle.
54 minutes ago
Trump’s shadow hangs over Virginia as Republicans try to win without him
ROANOKE, VIRGINIA – As Winsome Earle-Sears closes out her bid for governor, the loudest voice in Republican politics is the one going unmentioned.
At the Shenandoah Club in Roanoke on Monday, Earle-Sears stood before rows of supporters beneath a blue backdrop reading “Common Sense, Not Nonsense.” She railed against Democrat Abigail Spanberger over taxes, energy policy, and crime, casting the race as a fight for Virginia’s future and warning voters to “make the darkness tremble.” She invoked faith, family, and the American dream, but never once mentioned President Donald Trump.
That silence is striking in a political era still defined by Trump, even as Democrats are already attempting to frame Tuesday’s results as a measure of his strength and Republicans in the Commonwealth work to keep his name out of sight, a far cry from the boisterous campaign trail appearances that once defined his political style.
During Trump’s tele-rally Monday night for the Virginia race, he also did not mention Sears by name.
Alina Habba, acting U.S. attorney for New Jersey, warned on Monday evening against cheating in the state’s 2025 election, which features a fiercely competitive gubernatorial campaign.
“The US. Attorney’s Office will coordinate with our partners at the FBI to respond to complaints related to the upcoming general election,” she pledged in a video message posted to X.
“This office will investigate and prosecute any criminal activity related to the election process, including intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling voters, impersonating voters, altering voting ballot ballots and tallies, stuffing ballot boxes and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input, and it will do so regardless of who commits those crimes and regardless of party or affiliation,” Habba continued.
Her statement comes as all eyes are on New Jersey, where Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) and businessman Jack Ciattarelli are battling for the governor’s seat in one of the most closely watched races in the country.
Polling indicates Ciattarelli is in a dead heat with Sherrill as he angles for an upset win to flip the seat red on Tuesday.
NEWARK, N.J.— Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli received a surprise special guest at his rally in Passaic County on Monday: his son, Jake, who is serving in the U.S. Army and is stationed in Kuwait.
Ciattarelli was at his first of his final three rallies before Election Day at Murph’s Tavern in Totowa, where the local GOP chairman orchestrated the big reveal.
“You don’t know what I’m going to say right now, but your biggest supporter that serves his country just came over overnight to serve you,” Passaic County Republican Chairman Peter Murphy said.
“Who’s here?” Ciattarelli asked with a confused smile. He was visibly taken aback when Jake emerged and gave his father a huge hug from behind the bar at the tavern, receiving loud cheers and chants of “USA.”
The New York City mayoral race has brought several issues to light in the last several months amid the noise about socialist Zohran Mamdani’s rise.
Those topics have gained attention in part because of Mamdani, whose solutions appealed to voters when he won the Democratic primary in an upset over former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Mamdani’s affordability agenda has covered housing, child care, and transit, though he’s been criticized for a public safety plan that won’t hire new officers. Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa have pledged to hire thousands of new officers and clean up the city’s streets.
The two candidates opposing Mamdani have fought to find the same appeal; however, neither has been able to create the same momentum on the issues that Mamdani has.
A recent poll showed Mamdani’s trademark topic, the cost of living, as the most important concern in the race, followed by crime and housing affordability.
Voters have questioned how Mamdani would exactly implement his agenda if elected, and how he’d deal with President Donald Trump, as he has shown a particular interest in the race and could take action if Mamdani wins.
New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo cheers along with supporters while campaigning in New York, Monday, Nov. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
President Donald Trump reiterated reluctant but firm support on Monday for former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the New York City mayoral race in the hope he can keep socialist rival Zohran Mamdani from winning the election.
A day after saying he would back Cuomo, “the bad Democrat,” over “communist” Mamdani, Trump took to Truth Social to urge New Yorkers to back the former governor, just hours before voters head to the polls on Tuesday.
“It is my obligation to run the Nation, and it is my strong conviction that New York City will be a Complete and Total Economic and Social Disaster should Mamdani win,” Trump wrote in a message weighing in on the race in his native state, and the city where he spent decades as one of the most influential developers in the country.
“His principles have been tested for over a thousand years, and never once have they been successful. I would much rather see a Democrat, who has had a Record of Success, WIN, than a Communist with no experience and a Record of COMPLETE AND TOTAL FAILURE….Whether you personally like Andrew Cuomo or not, you really have no choice. You must vote for him, and hope he does a fantastic job. He is capable of it, Mamdani is not!” the president added.
Hundreds of thousands of residents have already cast early votes ahead of the Nov. 4 election, which has emerged as one of the most closely watched in the country after Mamdani shocked pundits with an upset primary win against Democratic rivals, including Cuomo and New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
The latest polling indicates a razor-thin race, with Cuomo trailing Mamdani by a narrow margin.
Elon Musk speaks during an event with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
Elon Musk is the latest prominent figure to endorse former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo‘s New York City mayoral campaign on Monday in a bid to keep socialist rival Zohran Mamdani from winning the election.
Mamdani is leading in the polls ahead of the Tuesday election, with Cuomo seen as his top challenger, followed by Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa. A host of moderates and Republicans have issued endorsements to Cuomo, a Democrat running as an independent, in hopes of keeping Mamdani out of City Hall, since Sliwa is seen as having little chance of winning.
Musk added his voice to the fray hours before in-person voting started, with the X owner telling residents to “bear in mind that a vote for Curtis is really a vote for Mumdumi or whatever his name is.”
“Remember to vote tomorrow in New York!” Musk said in a post to X, adding, “VOTE CUOMO!”
“If you’ve seen my show, you know that I’ve made fun of many members of Congress many times for many years, for many reasons, but this is an earnest appeal asking you to get out and vote on Tuesday for a leader that I respect and admire, Mikie Sherrill,” Colbert said in the Instagram video.
After praising Sherrill for her work as a Navy helicopter pilot and as a federal prosecutor, Colbert ended the video by calling on voters to cast their mail-in ballots or make a plan to head to the polls on Tuesday.
In the final Atlas State Poll of the 2025 New York mayoral race conducted on Nov. 2, Mamdani is ahead with 43.9% of respondents saying they will vote for him in the election, with Cuomo trailing behind at 39.4%.
The gap between Mamdani and Cuomo decreased by 4.5 percentage points since Atlas’s previous poll. Mamdani is up 3.3 percentage points and Cuomo is up 5.4 percentage points since Oct. 30. Sliwa comes in third with 15.5% of the vote as of Nov. 2.
Atlas also asked respondents who they would choose if only Mamdani and Cuomo were candidates. Results from the hypothetical scenario show Cuomo in the lead with 49.7% of votes and Mamdani at 44.1%.
The margin of error is plus-or-minus 2 points.
19 hours ago
Mamdani frames NYC under his leadership as ‘alternative’ to Trump’s presidency in final campaign pitch
Democratic New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani suggested on Monday that he can be an “alternative” leader to President Donald Trump as part of his final pitch to voters.
“Today, the morning before Election Day, we have not only come so far—we stand on the verge of ushering in a new day for our city,” Mamdani said in a statement shared with the Washington Examiner.
“And so what we are here to show is that the answer to a Donald Trump presidency is not to create its mirror image here in City Hall. It is to create an alternative that can speak to what New Yorkers are so desperate to see in their own city and what they find in themselves and their neighbors every day — a city that believes in the dignity of everyone who calls this place home,” he added.
President Donald Trump will show his support for Republican candidates running in Virginia and New Jersey’s 2025 elections via tele-rallies on Monday evening.
The president has not gotten overly involved in the swing states’ gubernatorial races, though Earle-Sears and Ciattarelli have voiced support for his policies.
Given the recognition of off-year races as bellwether elections, Democrats have rolled out in-person events for Sherrill and Spanberger, featuring party heavyweights such as former President Barack Obama. Polling showing both states as likely wins for Democrats might explain Trump’s more lukewarm involvement in the races.
