Race for New York City Mayor, Virginia Governor and more
Tuesday’s off-year election provides the first big opportunity for voters across several states to make their voices heard this year — and shed early light on some key questions ahead of next year’s midterm elections.
How are voters responding to President Donald Trump’s second term? Can Republicans build on the president’s gains with working-class voters and people of color, and will they be able to keep Trump’s coalition engaged when he’s not on the ballot?
As for the Democrats, how will they reorganize their ranks after Trump’s victory in 2024? How can they reconcile the needs of their disaffected base with trying to win back voters who turned away from them in last year’s presidential election?
The gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey will provide some early answers to all these questions, while the mayoral race in New York City and the redistricting referendum in California will test the enthusiasm of Democratic voters. Other races will decide local issues that have come to the national consciousness in the past, and perhaps will do so again.
Here’s a look at the key races that will be contested across the country on Tuesday and the key dynamics shaping them:
Governor of Virginia
Former Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger and Republican Gov. Winsome Earl Sears are vying to become the commonwealth’s first female governor, with polls closing at 7 p.m. ET.
Democrats have leaned hard on the rising costs of living and the government shutdown, arguing that Republicans are not standing up to Trump amid federal layoffs and tariffs that they say are making life more difficult for Virginians. But Earl Sears’ campaign has largely fought back by focusing on issues such as the school’s policies regarding transgender students, especially their use of bathrooms and locker rooms.
She has also worked to align herself closely with outgoing Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a popular term-limited Republican. Most recently, she attacked Spanberger for refusing to call on Democratic attorney general candidate Jay Jones to resign after the publication of violent text messages he sent a few years ago.
This attorney general race has become another high-profile race in Virginia, where incumbent Republican Jason Miyares has criticized Jones over the texts and called him unfit for office. Miyares has Trump’s support.
Also among the candidates in Virginia is the race for lieutenant governor and control of the state House of Representatives, which Democrats currently control by a narrow margin. The attorney general’s race and the state’s House majority are important elements in Democrats’ plan to redraw Virginia’s congressional maps next year to strengthen the party in the battle for control of Congress.
Governor of New Jersey
Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill is emerging from a crowded Democratic primary to face Republican Jack Ciattarelli, a former state lawmaker who qualified for the GOP nomination again after losing the governor’s race in 2021 to Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy by just 3 percentage points.
Unlike Virginia, public polls have long shown a competitive race here, with polls closing at 8 p.m. ET. Both campaigns have portrayed the race as a referendum on affordability in the high-tax state, which also struggles with high electricity costs. Trump has endorsed Ciattarelli, but has not officially endorsed Virginia’s Earl Sears.
Sherrill argues that Ciattarelli’s support for Trump’s agenda will hurt the state, warning of cuts to programs like Medicaid and criticizing the president for cutting funding for a major infrastructure project connecting the state to New York City. But Ciattarelli says Democrats, who control state government, are to blame for the price hikes and that Sherrill would be a continuation of Murphy’s policies.
The state House of Representatives is also up for grabs, although Republicans will need a series of upsets to regain control.
Mayor of New York City
State Assemblyman Zahran Mamdani is the most likely candidate to lead the country’s largest city after his surprise victory in the Democratic Party primaries in June. But he faces a strong challenge from former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is now running as a third-party candidate after losing in the primary to Mamdani. Polls close at 9 p.m. ET.
Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist, has built his campaign around affordability, calling for a fixed rent freeze and making city buses and child care free, while also pledging to shift some city resources from police to the Department of Community Safety to focus on mental health and crisis response. Cuomo has pitted himself against Mamdani, promising to hire more police and arguing that Mamdani’s progressive policies would cost the city too much — or were actually unachievable.
The race has become deeply personal, with Mamdani saying he wants to turn the page on Cuomo’s scandal-marred past policies, and Cuomo saying he wants to prevent the progressive wing from destroying the Democratic Party.
There are other mayoral races up for grabs Tuesday as well, including in Minneapolis — where Mayor Jacob Frey faces challenges from several other Democrats, including self-described democratic socialist state legislator Omar Fateh — as well as Detroit, Boston, New Orleans, Miami and Charlotte, North Carolina.
Ballot procedures for redistricting in California
California Democrats are asking state voters to greenlight a new congressional map drawn by the party that would give it a chance to pick up as many as five House seats in next year’s midterm elections — a big part of the national redistricting battle.
The ballot measure, known as Proposition 50, would authorize the new map from 2026 through 2030, while a “no” vote would keep the current congressional lines drawn by an independent commission after the 2020 census. That vote would need the support of more than 50% of voters to pass. Polls close at 8pm local time (11pm ET).
Gov. Gavin Newsom and other Democratic leaders pushed the plan in response to Trump-backed redistricting efforts by Republicans in Texas and other states. Trump’s party won three House seats in 2024 and is trying to protect that slim majority in 2026.
Democrats have linked their partisan attempts to manipulate the battle directly with Trump, arguing that he is trying to “rig” the midterm elections. Republicans and other opponents of the campaign say the redistricting move undermines the will of voters, who took redistricting power from the Legislature and gave it to an independent commission in order to take politics out of the process.
Special election for Texas’ 18th congressional district
Eight months after the death of Democratic Rep. Sylvester Turner, voters in this dark blue district will choose a successor to serve out the rest of Turner’s term, which runs through the end of next year. Polls close at 8pm ET (7pm local time).
The Houston-area special election attracted a handful of prominent Democrats, including State Rep. Jolanda Jones, Harris County District Attorney Christian Menefee, and former Houston City Councilwoman Amanda Edwards. Journalist and author Carmen Maria Montiel is the only major GOP candidate in the race.
A special election includes all candidates on the same ballot regardless of party. If no candidate receives a clear majority on Tuesday, the top two candidates will move to a runoff.
Whoever wins, the prize will be fleeting. The district was completely redistricted in Texas’ mid-decade redistricting, and next year’s election will be run along very different lines.
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Retention Election
Three Pennsylvania Supreme Court justices face retention elections this year, where voters will decide whether to keep them in office or leave their seats vacant. Christine Donohue, Kevin Dougherty and David Wecht, all Democrats, were elected in 2015, shifting the balance of the state Supreme Court from a Republican majority to a 5-2 Democratic majority.
If Dougherty and Wicht are retained, they will serve another 10-year term on the court. If Donohue is retained, she will serve on the court until 2027, when she will face mandatory retirement for 75-year-old justices. Polls close at 8 p.m. ET.
If voters decide not to retain any or all of the justices, Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro could appoint judges temporarily to serve until 2027, when full judicial elections could be held — but that appointment process requires confirmation by two-thirds of the state Senate, which is controlled by Republicans. Shapiro has been rallying on behalf of the three justices, asking voters to keep them.
The most important government ballot procedures
Maine is voting on whether to approve a new firearms “red flag law,” which would allow people to petition a court to temporarily restrict access to firearms to people they believe may pose a significant danger to themselves or others.
The state already has a modified version on the books that allows police to bring that request to court, but the proposal would expand that ability to include others, with a judge’s approval.
In another ballot measure, Maine voters will decide whether to make major changes to the state’s absentee ballot process, including shortening the absentee voting period, limiting the number of ballot drop boxes and requiring voters to present a valid ID before voting. Polls in Maine close at 8 p.m. ET.
Texas voters will cast two proposals on the statewide ballot on state constitutional amendments on Tuesday: one on whether to codify the fundamental right of parents to decide what is best for their children, and another that would declare that Texas voters must be U.S. citizens. The second measure aims in part to prevent localities from allowing non-citizens to vote in local elections. The state’s polls close completely at 9 p.m. ET.
Colorado voters will decide to fund a program that provides free breakfast and lunch to all public school students in the state. Polls there close at 9pm ET (7pm local time).
Other notable races around the country
Among the other mayoral races mentioned above, Frey’s re-election run in Minneapolis received significant attention, with the Fatah movement running against him from the left in a crowded race.
Just a short drive away from a headline-grabbing New York mayoral race, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blackman, a Republican, is seeking to retain office this fall after closely aligning himself with the president and the MAGA movement.
Detroit and Miami will elect new mayors, while Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles is seeking re-election after the killing of a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee sparked a national outcry.
A special Senate election in Minnesota will determine partisan control of the body.
The swing state of Pennsylvania is home to another key election besides state Supreme Court retention races. Mayoral races in Pittsburgh and suburban Philadelphia, among other places, could send early signals ahead of the 2026 elections there.
There are some particularly notable names on the ballot Tuesday as well.
Former New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey is seeking a political comeback by running for mayor of Jersey City, while Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who prosecuted Trump, is seeking re-election.
In Cincinnati, Mayor Aftab Pourval is likely to win re-election, facing Republican Corey Bowman. Who is the half-brother of Vice President J.D. Vance?.