Democrats reveled in November blowout wins by Zohran Mamdani in the New York City mayoral race and by Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill in the Virginia and New Jersey gubernatorial contests. They had good reason. Mamdani defeated former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo by nearly 10 points, while Spanberger crushed then–Lieutenant Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears by more than 15 points. In New Jersey, the one race Republicans believed they had a chance in, Sherrill scored a landslide victory over businessman Jack Ciattarelli, winning by 14.4%.

The blue wave even swept Virginia’s embattled Democratic candidate for attorney general, Jay Jones, into office. You may recall that Jones came under intense fire from Republicans when The National Review published text messages he’d sent in 2022 in which he fantasized about the violent deaths of former Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert (R) and his children.