5 things to watch out for in US off-year elections

Election Day in the USA.

These so-called “off-year” elections do not include presidential or congressional races, but there are still a few critical votes to watch tonight.

New York City will elect its next mayor in a battle pitting a younger, progressive Democrat against one of the party’s old guard. The states of Virginia and New Jersey will elect new governors, and the outcome of these contests could be a precursor to next year’s midterm congressional elections.

Californians will also decide whether to redraw U.S. House district maps in a rare mid-decade redistricting as Democrats try to counter Republican efforts to give their party an advantage in next year’s midterm elections.

Here’s what you need to know.

All eyes will be on the Big Apple as 34-year-old state Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani tries to pull off a political upset in his bid to become New York City’s youngest mayor in more than a century.

Mamdani, a democratic socialist, Shocked the political establishment When he bested former governor Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary this summer. Undaunted, Cuomo continued to campaign independently. Republican Curtis Sliwa, meanwhile, resisted pressure to drop out of the race to clear the way for Cuomo.

If Mamdani wins, he will be the city’s first Muslim mayor. Democrats across the country will be watching to see whether his laser focus on cost-of-living issues like rent, food and wages will work as an effective message in future races.

Although Mamdani entered election night with a suggested poll advantage, the gap with Cuomo has narrowed. In the final stretch of the campaign, Cuomo criticized Mamdani on crime and public safety and said the young politician lacked the experience to lead America’s largest city.

California’s Democratic leadership is asking voters for permission to redraw the state’s congressional districts in the middle of the decade. That’s unusual in California, which by law requires a nonpartisan committee to draw congressional maps every decade based on census data.

But as Republican-led states like Texas and Missouri rush to redraw congressional maps to give their parties an advantage in the 2026 midterm elections, California Governor Gavin Newsom wants to offset losses through redistribution in his own case.

California’s Proposition 50 would temporarily allow new congressional district maps to be used through 2030. According to the Los Angeles Times, the campaign raised $158 million in donations, with Democratic supporters greatly outweighing the efforts of the Republican opposition.

Republicans in California, which holds just nine of the state’s 52 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, strongly oppose the plan.

The University of California Berkeley/IGS poll suggests that 60% of California voters support Proposition 50, while 38% oppose it. The distribution was highly partisan; 93% of Democrats said they would choose “yes” and 91% of Republicans said they would choose “no.”

New Jersey is considered a blue state, but polls show a close race between Democrat Mikie Sherrill and Republican Jack Ciattarelli. This is one of two gubernatorial races this year that could show how Americans feel about the current political climate.

Sherrill currently represents New Jersey’s 11th District in Congress, and Ciattarelli is a former state assemblyman.

New Jersey is considered a Democratic-leaning state, but it has also had Republican governors. The last one, Chris Christie, served two terms between 2010 and 2018.

The rhetoric in the race got heated. Ciattarelli and his supporters ran political ads featuring clips of Sherrill giving hesitant answers in interviews about his policies.

It attracted the attention of nationally known figures from both parties. Democratic stars such as former president Barack Obama and former transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg campaigned with Sherrill. President Donald Trump attended a virtual rally for Ciattarelli, and conservative activist Jack Posobiec endorsed him.

Virginia’s leadership often swings between Democrats and Republicans, meaning the outcome of this year’s gubernatorial election could be decisive for the mood of voters.

Regardless of which candidate is successful, the state will elect its first female governor this year. Voters will choose between Democrat Abigail Spanberger, a U.S. congresswoman, and Republican Winsome Earle-Sears, the state’s current lieutenant governor.

If Earle-Sears wins, she will be the first black woman elected to lead a U.S. state in the nation’s history.

Virginia borders liberal-leaning Washington, D.C., to the north, where many residents work in the nation’s capital or for the federal government. But there are also deeply conservative voters and undecided voters in the state’s rural areas.

Spanberger highlighted the economic impact of Trump’s cuts to the federal government affecting Virginia’s jobs. Earle-Sears argued that Virginia’s economy is Republican-led. But he has also delved into cultural issues, such as transgender issues, which Republicans successfully used as a wedge issue in last year’s presidential election.

Even though Trump is not on the ballot, Trump’s name comes to the fore in this election.

The New York City mayoral race will determine how the city’s next leader deals with the Trump administration meddling in the city’s politics. Cuomo touts his experience as governor handling the first administration as one reason voters chose him.

The president hinted that he would punish the city if voters elect Mamdani.

“It’s going to be hard for me as president to give a lot of money to New York, because if a communist runs New York, all you’re going to do is waste the money you send there.” Trump said in a 60 Minutes interview that aired Sunday. (Mamdani is not a communist.)

Trump launched the redistricting battle that led to California putting Proposition 50 to the ballot and backed Ciattarelli in the New Jersey gubernatorial race.