Democrats sweep 2025 elections as Ken Martin touts party resurgence

Democrats needed a big night on Tuesday after last year’s stunning election setbacks.

And they understood.

“Democrats Sweep Election Night, Pick Up Pace to 2026 Midterms,” blared the headline on a Democratic National Committee (DNC) email late in the evening, as the party pointed to double-digit victories in gubernatorial races in blue-leaning New Jersey and Virginia and convincing victories in key ballot box showdowns in Democratic-dominated California and battleground Pennsylvania.

In arguably the most closely watched election this fall, democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani made history as New York City’s first Muslim and first millennial elected mayor.

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While Mamdani’s victory in the nation’s most populous city is a shot in the arm for the rise of the socialist movement, it also appears to be a political gift for Republicans.

Here are three key takeaways from Election Night 2025:

1. Mamdani factor

Since Mamdani’s Democratic mayoral primary victory in June, Republicans have repeatedly aimed to make the 34-year-old Ugandan-born state lawmaker from New York City the new face of the Democratic Party, while trying to characterize Democrats as far-left socialists.

And the GOP has been dealt a blow again as Mamdani is on track for a nearly 9-point win over former Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent, in Tuesday’s general election.

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“Democrats have officially handed over New York City to a self-proclaimed communist, and hard-working families will be the ones paying the price,” Joe Gruters, chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC), said in a statement. he said. “His election is proof that the Democratic Party has abandoned common sense and committed themselves to extremism.”

National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) spokesman Mike Marinella claimed that “the Democratic Party has capitulated to radical socialist Zohran Mamdani and the far-left crowd who are now running the show.”

Socialist Zohran Mamdani won the New York City mayoral race against former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa. (Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)

As Fox News Digital first reported Wednesday morning, the NRCC immediately launched ads linking Mamdani to House Democrats facing tough re-elections in next year’s midterm elections in which the GOP aims to maintain its fragile majority in the chamber.

Longtime Republican strategist Colin Reed told Fox News Digital that Democrats “will now have a rising and emboldened Mayor-elect Mamdani dominating the national spotlight.”

WHAT THE 2025 ELECTION RESULTS MAY MEAN FOR DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS

But veteran Democratic strategist Joe Caiazzo pointed to the gubernatorial victories of moderate Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey and former Rep. Abigail Spanberger of Virginia, saying “tonight proved that Democrats’ path back to majorities in both chambers and the White House goes directly through the idea of ​​building a tent big enough to include moderates and progressives.”

2. Have Democrats gotten their enthusiasm back?

As Republicans made major gains in key parts of the Democratic Party base, including minorities and young voters, Democrats lost control of the White House and Senate and failed to regain the House majority in last year’s elections.

And Democrats have been mostly powerless to blunt President Donald Trump’s unprecedented and explosive second-term agenda.

But Democrats see Tuesday’s impressive victories as the first step in a political recovery and confirm the party’s emphasis on affordability in this year’s election campaigns.

“American voters have made a Democratic resurgence. A Republican showdown. A Blue Sweep. And it happened because our Democratic candidates, wherever they are, however they fit into our big tent party, are meeting voters at the kitchen table, not the gilded ballroom,” said DNC chairman Ken Martin.

And Martin argued: “To all the Republicans who have cowardly knelt before Trump all year, consider this: We are going to go after your business from now on.”

Former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate, celebrates taking the stage during an election night rally at the Greater Richmond Convention Center on November 04, 2025. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Caiazzo said Democrats’ poll victories show “voters are hungry for candidates who express their concerns and offer to unite rather than divide.”

But Reed countered, “It’s not unexpected for Democratic candidates to win in blue districts of the country. It was even more surprising that there was any uncertainty toward the evening.”

And he pointed out that “the fight for next year’s midterms will be conducted in a friendlier environment.”

3. No MAGA momentum

Trump, who lost both New Jersey and Virginia in last year’s presidential elections, made big gains in both states.

And a big question heading into the 2025 election was whether MAGA supporters, who have a low propensity to vote, would vote in a non-election year when Trump wasn’t on the ballot.

Many did not.

“THE TWO REASONS WHY REPUBLICANS LOSED THE ELECTION TONIGHT WAS TRUMP BEING OUT OF THE VOTE COUNT AND BEING SHUT DOWN,” the president said in a quote he attributed to “pollsters” on social media.

Veteran Republican strategist Chris LaCivita, who served as co-campaign manager for Trump’s 2024 White House bid, emphasized: “Candidate quality matters. Tonight was a great lesson for the Republican Party: Running soft Rs moderates against Trump and MAGA doesn’t work, even in “purple” states.”

Virginia Governor Winsome Earle-Sears greets supporters on Election Night in Leesburg, Virginia. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

LaCivita specifically called out Virginia Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, the GOP gubernatorial candidate who lost to Spanberger by 15 points.

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And he warned: “Republicans must be smart and run only MAGA candidates to move forward, otherwise there will be major turnout problems when @realDonaldTrump is not on the ballot!”

For the GOP, Reed said, “the mission remains to reassemble the winning Trump coalition without his name on the ballot. The good news for the Republican side is a deep roster of capable and proven leaders who will carry that banner into battle.”