Virginia and New Jersey, the two states that voted for governor in 2025, both voted for Vice President Kamala Harris over President Donald Trump by 52%-46% margins in 2024. Democrats ran significantly better in both states on Tuesday. One reason is that Trump Republicans, as an increasingly downscale party, see their turnout sag in off-years than when the presidency is up. But that wasn’t their only problem this time.

In Virginia, Democrat Abigail Spanberger, a former CIA officer and congresswoman, won 58%-42%, well ahead of her standing in most polls. Republicans who dismiss this result as reflecting the weakness of nominee Winsome Earle-Sears should note that Democrat Jay Jones beat incumbent Attorney General Jason Miyares 53%-47%, despite the Oct. 3 revelation of Jones’s email that he’d like to murder a colleague and see his children die in their mother’s arms.