Today marks the start of Election Day for major races in Virginia, New Jersey, New York and California.
In Virginia, residents are choosing a new governor and attorney general. New Jersey is electing a governor, and in New York, residents are voting for a mayor. In California, voters are weighing in on Proposition 50, a ballot measure that could significantly reshape the state’s congressional districts.
Race for Virginia’s Governor:
Some voters are calling it a ‘Trump-Focused’ election season, with two of the most important races happening in Virginia. Polls opened at 6 a.m., but 2 million votes have already come in with early voting, which is a record for the state in a non-presidential election year.
“I think the thing that stands out the most about this in Virginia’s race this year is this is a Trump election,” said Dwayne Yancey, founding editor of Cardinal News. “He overshadows everything.”
Yancey has reported in Virginia for more than forty years. He says that in this governor’s race between Democrat Abigail Spangberger and Republican Winsome Earle-Sear, the Trump focus is not unusual.
“We’ve had one such election before 2017,” said Dwayne. “Virginia’s governor’s race came in Trump’s first term, and Trump was a big factor in that.”
One of Spanberger’s main issues is about the economy, focusing on the cost of living, while Earle-Sears raises social issues such as transgender youth in Virginia public schools.
Former President Barack Obama endorsed Spanberger, supporting her at several rallies. Meanwhile, President Trump hasn’t endorsed Earle-Sears and hasn’t even mentioned her name. Most polls put Spanberger far ahead.
Race for Virginia’s Attorney General:
The State’s Attorney General race is much tighter with incumbent Republican Jason Miyares slightly ahead of Democrat Jay Jones.
Early polls had Jones ahead, but some controversial texts he sent have narrowed the gap, marking no clear front runner at this moment.
Race for New Jersey’s Governor:
In New Jersey, Democratic candidate Mikie Sherrill is ahead, but the race has tightened recently. Republican Jack Ciattarelli has gained some ground.
This is another race with a former president endorsing the Democrat and the current president endorsing the Republican.
Race for New York City’s Mayor:
In New York City, Democrat Zohran Mamdani is the front runner in the mayoral race against former Governor Andrew Cuomo running as an Independent and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa.
Instead of supporting Sliwa, Trump endorsed Andrew Cuomo the day before the election. Writing on “Truth Social” that Mamdani “is a communist and to vote for Cuomo or else.”
President Trump has said if Mamdani wins, he will be reluctant to send federal funding to his hometown of New York City, even though it would be illegal for a president to do that.
Proposition 50 (Prop 50):
Over on the West Coast, California voters are deciding on a proposition to redraw congressional districts that could add up to five democratic seats in the U.S House. This in response to an effort by Texas Republicans to add five congressional seats.
Most polls show proposition 50 will pass.
In addition to the two million early votes in Virginia, the Associated Press reports there were early voting records broken across the nation, such as 7 million early votes in California and almost 800,000 in New York city.
