Trump says election results not good for Republicans, citing 2 possible reasons
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday morning that the ongoing government shutdown was partly to blame for Republican losses on Election Day. Trump told reporters during a breakfast with GOP lawmakers at the White House that election night on Tuesday “was not expected to be a victory,” saying the 36-day government shutdown was one of two possible reasons. “I think, if you read the pollsters, the shutdown was a big factor,” Trump said. “Negative for the Republicans, and that was a big factor.” Trump added: “And they say that I wasn’t on the ballot and was the biggest factor. But I don’t know about that. But I was honored that they said that.” FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB: SEE ALL THE 2025 RESULTS His remarks come after Democrats won resoundingly in multiple states on Tuesday, with exit polls showing economic worries were very much on the minds of voters. “I don’t think it was good for Republicans,” Trump said of the election results. “I don’t think it’s good. I’m not sure it was good for anybody.” Some major losses for Republicans included the New York City mayoral race, and contests for governor in New Jersey and Virginia. Democrats also secured another expected win in California, where voters approved a new congressional map that is designed to help their party win five more U.S. House seats in next year’s midterm elections. On the morning following the defeats, Trump called on lawmakers to bring the 36-day government shutdown, now the longest on record, to an end. GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN 101: WE’VE BEEN HERE BEFORE, HERE’S WHAT HAPPENS NEXT “We must get the government open,” Trump said, going on to push Republican senators to end the filibuster. “It’s time for Republicans to do what they have to do,” he said. “Terminate the filibuster.” The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Ramaswamy lists ‘key lessons’ for GOP after electoral blowout: ‘We got our a–es handed to us’
Following a night of Democratic electoral victories in New York City, Virginia, New Jersey, California and elsewhere, one-time GOP presidential candidate and former DOGE chief Vivek Ramaswamy admitted, “We got our a–es handed to us.” Ramaswamy, who is running for Ohio governor, said there are two “key lessons” for Republicans to take away from the Election Day blowout. “We got our a–es handed to us in New Jersey, Virginia and New York City. Democrats swept all three,” said Ramaswamy. “There’s two key lessons for Republicans, listen carefully,” he went on. OHIO DONORS DITCH TIM RYAN, POUR NEARLY $220K INTO VIVEK RAMASWAMY’S GOVERNOR BID In light of the GOP’s crushing defeats Tuesday night, Ramaswamy said that Republicans need to focus their messaging on affordability and avoid playing into “identity politics.” “Our side needs to focus on affordability. Make the American dream affordable, bring down costs: electric costs, grocery costs, healthcare costs and housing costs. And lay out how we’re going to do it,” he said. “Number two, cut out the identity politics, it doesn’t suit Republicans, it’s not for us, that’s the woke left’s game, not ours,” Ramaswamy went on. “We don’t care about the color of your skin or your religion. We care about the content of your character, that’s who we are,” he said. TRUMP IGNORES ELECTIONS AS DEMOCRATS STUMBLE ON THE WAY TO LIKELY VICTORIES Republicans suffered decisive defeats in several key races across the country on Tuesday night. This came despite several of the Democratic candidates being wrapped in controversy and scandal. In Virginia, Democrat Jay Jones successfully unseated Republican incumbent Attorney General Jason Miyares. Just weeks before Election Day, Jones had to apologize for resurfaced text messages he sent a colleague in which he fantasized about putting “two bullets” in the head of a Republican opponent. Jones also sent messages voicing that he believed the Republican’s “fascist” children should die. In New Jersey, now Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill was also caught up in controversy over her alleged role in a massive cheating scandal during her time at the U.S. Naval Academy. Sherrill was not accused of cheating. However, she said she was kept from participating in her commencement because she refused to divulge information on some of those involved. A former classmate of Sherrill’s, meanwhile, suggested that she was not being honest about the extent of her involvement in the scandal. TRUMP REACTS TO DEMOCRATIC VICTORIES, SUGGESTS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN IS TO BLAME Ramaswamy left Ohio for short stints in recent weeks to stump for now-defeated GOP gubernatorial candidates Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears in Virginia and Jack Ciattarelli in New Jersey. At the time, Ramaswamy said GOP victories in both elections would “set the table for even bigger and more decisive victories, hopefully in places like Ohio next year.”
Charlotte mayor wins landslide reelection despite controversy over Iryna Zarutska’s slaying
Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles, a Democrat, cruised to re-election Tuesday, capturing more than 70% of the vote over Republican challenger Terrie Donovan, with nearly all ballots counted, according to the North Carolina State Board of Elections. The result extends Democrats’ long dominance in North Carolina’s largest city, which hasn’t elected a Republican mayor since former Gov. Pat McCrory left office in 2009, according to WFAE. Lyles’ decisive win comes despite the controversy surrounding the August murder of Iryna Zarutska on the city’s Lynx Blue Line train. Zarutska, 23, a Ukrainian refugee, was sitting on the train after her work shift when she was randomly and violently stabbed to death. Video of her killing went viral and reignited debate about public safety in Charlotte. CHARLOTTE’S ‘PRO-CRIME’ POLICIES UNDER FIRE AS CAREER CRIMINAL CHARGED WITH KILLING COMMUTER: EXPERT Decarlos Brown Jr., 34, a man with a long criminal record and more than a dozen arrests, was charged with her murder. After the attack, Lyles emphasized the suspect’s mental health issues and homelessness rather than his criminal history. Republicans said the remarks showed that the mayor and other Democrats are too lenient toward repeat offenders. In a statement after the Aug. 22 killing and Brown’s arrest, Lyles said: “Tragic incidents like these should force us to look at what we are doing across our community to address root causes.” “We will never arrest our way out of issues such as homelessness and mental health,” she wrote, according to The Associated Press. CHARLOTTE MAYOR SCORES PRIMARY RE-ELECTION VICTORY AMID NATIONAL BACKLASH OVER GRUESOME TRAIN MURDER Lyles later acknowledged that she “wished that she had addressed the community… much sooner,” according to WBTV. The mayor also faced criticism over a $305,000 separation package paid to outgoing Charlotte Police Chief Johnny Jennings, which drew a state audit for its alleged lack of transparency and use of public funds. Along with her re-election, Lyles scored another victory Tuesday as voters approved a transportation sales tax she had championed for years to fund billions in road, bus and rail projects. She previously won re-election in 2023 with 74% of the vote. Four Democrat incumbents also won the City Council’s four at-large seats. Donovan, a real estate agent, had made crime her top issue even before the killing. Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Economic anxiety keys Dem sweep in high-stakes races as left leverages voter frustration
Democrats claimed victory in a trio of high-stakes elections that largely focused on economic anxiety and affordability issues. New Jersey Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill defeated Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli in the New Jersey governor’s race, while former Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger defeated Republican challenger Winsome Earle-Sears in the Virginia gubernatorial race. In the Empire State, Democratic Socialist New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani claimed victory over former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an Independent, and Republican Curtis Sliwa. The three sweeps come as Republicans worked to make inroads in the historically liberal or left-leaning jurisdictions, including campaigning on lowering taxes. In all three elections, the economy and affordability were top concerns, according to polling data, with the liberal candidates leaning into blaming the White House for economic anxiety. TRUMP LOOMS LARGE OVER KEY ELECTION DAY 2025 CONTESTS DESPITE NOT BEING ON BALLOT In New Jersey, voters reported that the state’s notoriously high taxes and the economy were their top issues heading into the polling stations, according to Fox News Voter Poll data. In Virginia, half of voters reported that the economy was their top issue, more than double the number who reported healthcare as their top concern, according to Fox polling data. In New York City, affordability was by far voters’ top concern, according to Fox News Voter Poll data, with Mamdani notching a significant win over his challengers. Mamdani ran on policies such as city-run groceries to lower food costs, eliminating bus fares, implementing rent freezes on rent-stabilized units and other affordable housing proposals. Voters responded by voting for Democrats following President Donald Trump‘s decisive win over former Vice President Kamala Harris just more than a year ago in a federal election that also focused on the economy amid spiraling inflation woes. Trump and other conservatives have railed against Mamdani as a “communist” who threatens New York City’s massive economy and a symbol of American capitalism, while left-wing supporters have championed he will ease the cost burden on residents facing sky-high rent, taxes and food costs. TRUMP IGNORES ELECTIONS AS DEMOCRATS STUMBLE ON THE WAY TO LIKELY VICTORIES “Zohran Mamdani, a 100% Communist Lunatic, has just won the Dem Primary, and is on his way to becoming Mayor,” Trump wrote on Truth Social in June. “We’ve had Radical Lefties before, but this is getting a little ridiculous. He looks TERRIBLE, his voice is grating, he’s not very smart.” The trio of high-profile Democrats who won their elections campaigned in part against Trump administration policies and affordability woes. “Donald Trump needs to answer directly to Virginians on why he is actively cutting Virginia jobs and hurting the Virginia economy,” Spanberger said in October. “The Trump Administration has taken a sledgehammer approach to governing that has hurt Virginia’s workers, businesses, and economy.” Sherrill pitched the current economy as a “catastrophe,” including claiming Trump’s tariffs would be disastrous. DEMOCRAT IN KEY GOVERNOR RACE KEEPS DISTANCE FROM NYC’S MAMDANI “Donald Trump just implemented the biggest tax increase in my lifetime — an economic catastrophe for New Jersey families,” Sherrill said in April as Trump announced increased tariffs on foreign nations. “This will raise costs to the tune of almost $4,000 per year, and many companies have already announced layoffs. No wonder the Wall Street Journal called it the ‘dumbest trade war in history.’” New Jersey, a historically deep blue state, was viewed as the most likely to potentially flip red after the 2024 federal election showed Trump made inroads with Garden State voters, including flipping five counties to the GOP. Following Spanberger’s win Tuesday, she celebrated that she would reinvigorate the Old Dominion state’s economy. “Virginia chose pragmatism over partisanship,” Spanberger said. “We chose our commonwealth over chaos.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “You all chose leadership that will focus relentlessly on what matters most — lowering costs, keeping our communities safe and strengthening our economy for every Virginian,” she said. Trump responded to the Democrat wins Tuesday with a quote from pollsters that the ongoing government shutdown was partially due to the Republican losses. “‘TRUMP WASN’T ON THE BALLOT, AND SHUTDOWN, WERE THE TWO REASONS THAT REPUBLICANS LOST ELECTIONS TONIGHT,’ according to Pollsters,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
Minneapolis mayor’s race advances to ranked choice voting after no candidate reaches 50%
The Minneapolis mayor’s race will advance to ranked choice voting after none of the candidates received at least 50% of the vote in Tuesday’s election, The Associated Press has reported. Minneapolis allows voters to rank up to three candidates in its municipal races. The field for mayor included more than a dozen candidates. As of 10:41 p.m. EST Tuesday, Jacob Frey and Omar Fateh had received the most first-choice results. Fateh made waves on the national political stage this year, drawing comparisons to Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral campaign in New York City after The Minnesota Star Tribune dubbed him the “Mamdani of Minneapolis.” The 35-year-old son of Somali immigrants who became the first Somali-American elected to the Minnesota state Senate in 2020 challenged incumbent Frey head-on this year, criticizing the comparatively moderate Democrat for failing to “meet the needs of our changing society.” ILHAN OMAR ERUPTS AT OWN PARTY FOR RENEGING ON SOCIALIST CANDIDATE’S ENDORSEMENT: ‘INEXCUSABLE’ Fateh was endorsed by Minnesota’s Democratic-Farmer-Labor party this summer, the first endorsement of a Minneapolis mayoral candidate in 16 years, before DFL Chairman Richard Carlbom rescinded the coveted endorsement a month later. “I am incredibly honored to be the DFL endorsed candidate for Minneapolis Mayor. This endorsement is a message that Minneapolis residents are done with broken promises, vetoes, and politics as usual. It’s a mandate to build a city that works for all of us,” Fateh said on X in July. MINNEAPOLIS DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST OMAR FATEH VOWS TO PROTECT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS FROM ‘HOSTILE’ TRUMP ADMIN “After a thoughtful and transparent review of the challenges, the Constitution, Bylaws & Rules Committee found substantial failures in the Minneapolis Convention’s voting process on July 19th, including an acknowledgment that a mayoral candidate was errantly eliminated from contention. As a result, the Constitution, Bylaws & Rules Committee has vacated the mayoral endorsement,” Carlbom said the following month. But with the backing of the Twin Cities’ chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America and “Squad” member Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., who represents Minneapolis in the U.S. House of Representatives, Fateh’s progressive campaign maintained momentum. There were 15 mayoral candidates on the ballot in Minneapolis Tuesday after the city did not hold a mayoral primary. And while candidates can still identify politically, city races in Minneapolis are officially nonpartisan. In an attempt to consolidate support against the incumbent frontrunner Frey, Fateh urged his supporters to rank pastor DeWayne Davis and attorney Jazz Hampton as their second and third choices. In Minneapolis, if a candidate receives more than 50% of first-choice votes, that candidate wins outright. But if no one gets a majority, counting moves to additional rounds. After each round, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and those ballots are redistributed to the next-ranked candidate on each voter’s ballot. The process continues until one candidate has a majority and can be declared the winner. According to The Associated Press, every mayoral race in Minneapolis since 2013 has gone to at least a second round of ranked-choice voting. Frey ousted an incumbent in 2017 after six rounds of tabulation. Then, in 2021, Frey won re-election after two rounds. The last mayor’s race took the national stage after the murder of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis in 2020, triggering national and international protests rejecting police brutality amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., who was former Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate last year and is up for re-election next year, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., endorsed Frey’s campaign this year. And Minneapolis was once again in the national spotlight this year. The city is still reeling from a massacre at a back-to-school Mass at Annunciation Catholic Church in August, where two children were killed and 17 others were injured when a shooter opened fire before committing suicide. Associated Press contributed to this report
California voters pass congressional redistricting proposition in victory for Newsom, Democrats
California voters have passed a ballot initiative that will have a huge impact on next year’s battle for the U.S. House majority. According to the Fox News Decision Desk, voters in California approved Proposition 50, which would dramatically alter the state’s congressional districts, putting the left-leaning state front and center in the high-stakes political fight over redistricting that pits President Donald Trump and the GOP against the Democrats. Approval of the ballot initiative in the nation’s most populous state will temporarily sidetrack California’s nonpartisan redistricting commission and return the power to draw the congressional maps to the Democrat-dominated legislature. The effort in California, which could create five more Democratic-leaning congressional districts, aims to counter the passage in the reliable red state of Texas of a new map that aims to create up to five right-leaning House seats. Failure to approve what’s known as Proposition 50 would have been a stinging setback for Democrats. OBAMA ENDORSES NEWSOM CALIFORNIA REDISTRICTING PROP 50 Two-term Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is seen as a likely 2028 Democratic presidential contender, spearheaded the push to pass the proposition. “If we lose here, we are going to have total Republican control in the House, the Senate and the White House for at least two more years,” Newsom emphasized in a recent fundraising appeal to supporters. “If we win here, we can put a check on Trump for his final two years.” HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING, ANALYSIS, ON 2025 ELECTIONS The push by Trump and Republicans for a rare mid-decade redistricting is part of a broad effort by the GOP to pad its razor-thin House majority to keep control of the chamber in the 2026 midterms, when the party in power traditionally faces political headwinds and loses seats. Trump and his political team are aiming to prevent what happened during his first term in the White House, when Democrats reclaimed the House majority in the 2018 midterm elections. “California voters have sent a strong and clear message that they will not stand by while Republicans try to rig the 2026 election,” Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chair Rep. Suzan DelBene argued in a statement. “By overwhelmingly voting to pass Proposition 50, Californians are fighting back against the GOP’s disastrous record of raising costs and ripping away health care from millions, all to give tax breaks to the ultra-wealthy.” But Rep. Richard Hudson, chair of the rival National Republican Congressional Committee, charged that “no matter how Democrats redraw the lines to satisfy Gavin Newsom’s power grab, they can’t redraw their record of failure, and that’s why they will fail to take the House majority. Even under this new map, Republicans have clear opportunities to flip seats because Californians are fed up with Democrat chaos.” Missouri last month joined Texas as the second GOP-controlled state to pass congressional redistricting ahead of next year’s elections. The new map in Missouri is likely to give the GOP another right-leaning seat. North Carolina’s Republican-controlled legislature also passed a new map likely to score another congressional seat for the GOP. Republican-controlled Indiana is on deck, with a special legislative session getting underway this week. But, unlike those states, California voters needed to weigh in before giving redistricting power back to the legislature in Sacramento. “Heaven help us if we lose,” Newsom said in a fundraising pitch. “This is an all-hands-on-deck moment for Democrats.” FIVE KEY 2025 RACES TO WATCH Proponents and opponents of Proposition 50 raised hundreds of millions of dollars, with much of the money being dished out to pay for a deluge of ads on both sides. One of the two main groups countering Newsom and the Democrats labeled its effort “Stop Sacramento’s Power Grab.” Getting into the fight was former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the last Republican governor of California. During his tenure as governor, Schwarzenegger had a starring role in the passage of constitutional amendments in California in 2008 and 2010 that took the power to draw state legislative and congressional districts away from politicians and placed it in the hands of an independent commission. NORTHERN CALIFORNIA VOTERS WEIGH IN ON PROP 50 REDISTRICTING FIGHT “That’s what they want to do is take us backwards. This is why it is important for you to vote no on Prop 50,” Schwarzenegger said in an ad against Proposition 50. “Democracy — we’ve got to protect it, and we’ve got to go and fight for it.” But as Election Day neared in California, supporters had raised dramatically more than opponents of the proposition, and public opinion polling indicated majority support for the proposition. Even before Trump initiated his redistricting push, Ohio was under court order to redraw its maps. That could boost Republicans in a one-time battleground state that now leans right. Republicans in GOP-dominated Florida are also mulling congressional redistricting. And Democrats in heavily blue Maryland are weighing a redistricting push, while the Democrat-controlled legislature in Virginia is already pushing redistricting. Other states considering altering maps are Democrat-dominated Illinois and red states Kansas and Nebraska. Meanwhile, Democrats could possibly pick up a seat in Republican-dominated Utah due to a new, more competitive map, mandated by a judge.
Former NJ gov, councilman advance to runoff mayoral race in New Jersey’s second-largest city
Former Democratic New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey and Jersey City Council member James Solomon advanced to a runoff mayoral race slated for later this year, The Associated Press reported. The runoff election will be held Dec. 2 after no candidate won the majority of the vote on Tuesday. The nonpartisan Jersey City mayoral race was crowded with seven candidates, including McGreevey, who was viewed as the frontrunner, alongside Bill O’Dea, who is a Hudson County commissioner and former city councilman, and Solomon, a city councilman. The election also included former school board president Mussab Ali, city police Officer Christina Freeman, City Council President Joyce Watterman and candidate Kalki Jayne-Rose. NJ BARBERSHOP VOTERS SPLIT OVER SHERRILL, CIATTARELLI AS GOVERNOR’S RACE TIGHTENS Jersey City is a crucial jurisdiction in the Garden State, with a population of nearly 303,000 people conveniently located directly across the Hudson River from New York City. The mayoral race follows longtime Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop opting not to run for another term. Fulop unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic nomination to serve as New Jersey governor earlier in 2025. McGreevey’s run for Jersey City mayor marked his official return to New Jersey politics following his resignation as governor in 2004, when it was revealed he was having an affair with a male staffer whom he named the state’s Department of Homeland Security and Preparedness. McGreevey was married to a woman at the time and resigned as his former affair partner threatened a sexual harassment lawsuit. “I’m not asking folks to judge my soul. That’s for God,” McGreevey told NJ.com in October of his return to politics. “What I would ask people to ask is, “Will I be a good mayor?’” McGreevey subsequently came out as gay and largely withdrew from the public eye after his resignation. He entered the seminary after his resignation and focused his attention on faith-based community service, according to his campaign website. He is known as the first openly gay governor in U.S. history. NEW JERSEY DEMS SNUB ENDORSING SOCIALIST CANDIDATE MAMDANI AS GUBERNATORIAL ELECTION LOOMS Similar to the New Jersey gubernatorial election, the Jersey City mayoral election directed its focus to affordability in a state known nationwide for its sky-high taxes and housing woes. McGreevey, for example, campaigned on building 1,000 new affordable homes for city residents and requiring 20% of new developments to be reserved for affordable housing. DEMOCRAT IN KEY GOVERNOR RACE KEEPS DISTANCE FROM NYC’S MAMDANI O’Dea campaigned on rent control measures for the city bad building affordable housing specifically for teachers, nurses and first responders, according to his website. Solomon touted he would end the “current pay-to-play system for tax breaks for developers” to bring down housing costs and end “double-digit rent hikes in all residential buildings,” according to his campaign website. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP New Jersey polls closed at 8 p.m. Tuesday, and the state and nation closely watched the Garden State’s gubernatorial election, which elected Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherill.
Democrats keep Pennsylvania Supreme Court control after 3 justices win retention races
All three justices on the ballot in Pennsylvania will keep their jobs after winning races on Tuesday in an election that had threatened to change the state Supreme Court’s liberal composition. Democrats will continue to hold a 5-2 majority on the state’s highest court, a result of voters overwhelmingly choosing to retain Democratic justices Christine Donohue, Kevin Dougherty and David Wecht. The Associated Press called the races at about 10 p.m. local time. “Tonight, folks across our Commonwealth sent a resounding message by voting to retain all three Supreme Court Justices who will continue to defend the rule of law, safeguard our elections, and protect our constitutional rights,” Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro said in a statement. REPUBLICANS MOUNT CAMPAIGN TO FLIP PENNSYLVANIA SUPREME COURT’S DEMOCRATIC MAJORITY The race attracted an unusual amount of attention as state and national groups poured what The Associated Press estimated to be more than $15 million into it, exceeding spending in past retention elections and underscoring the stakes of changing the court majority. Pennsylvania Supreme Court justices serve 10-year terms and can be retained for consecutive terms until they reach the age of 75, at which point they must retire. Donohue, who is 72, will be unable to serve out another full term. Republicans’ fight with the judiciary has intensified this year as judges have routinely thwarted President Donald Trump’s agenda. Their defeat in Pennsylvania, a battleground state that has seen high-stakes election litigation in recent years, comes after they suffered a bitter loss in an expensive Supreme Court race in another swing state, Wisconsin, in April. 5 KEY RACES TO WATCH ON ELECTION DAY 2025 Trump weighed in on the race this week, calling for the ouster of the three justices. Trump said they “ruled for Sleepy Joe Biden over and over, and interfered in the 2020 Election” and that it was “time for Justice.” The odds had been stacked against the GOP in Pennsylvania since only one justice, Russell Nigro, had ever been voted out through a retention race. Nigro was defeated in 2005 amid public outrage over legislative and Supreme Court justice pay raises. Republicans dedicated their spending and resources to attempting to persuade voters that ousting the justices would be a well-deserved referendum on the Supreme Court’s controversial decisions surrounding COVID-19 lockdowns and election rules. Democrats argued that a loss would threaten women’s access to abortion and reproductive health services. The state’s highest court rejected Republicans’ attempt to toss out 2.5 million mail-in ballots in the 2020 election but delivered a mixture of smaller wins and losses to the GOP in the 2024 election over mail-in and provisional ballot lawsuits. In 2020, the state Supreme Court also upheld Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf’s order temporarily shutting down non-essential businesses in the state because of COVID-19.
Jay Jones overcomes mounting scandals to defeat Jason Miyares for Virginia attorney general
The Fox News Decision Desk has projected that Democrat Jay Jones will become the next attorney general of Virginia. Jones overcame weeks of burgeoning scandals, and voters looked past them to pick the Norfolk Democrat over incumbent Republican Jason Miyares, who burnished his record of going after drug companies, gangbangers and traffickers. Jones, the son of longtime Norfolk delegate Jerrauld Jones and a former Biden Justice Department staffer, beat back dueling scandals over a 116 mph reckless driving arrest featuring scrutinized affidavits of 1,000 community service hours sworn to by his own political action committee and the NAACP of Virginia. A recent Fox News Digital freedom of information request failed to produce records from New Kent County prosecutors. The office returned a notification that it could not be produced due to a Virginia State Code listing the records as part of a criminal investigation. JASON MIYARES TOUTS RECORD ON CRIME, FENTANYL AS JONES SCANDAL ROILS VIRGINIA RACE Jones also faced scrutiny for texting Del. Carrie Coyner, R-Hopewell, that he would prefer former House Speaker Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah, to be shot twice in the head rather than any bullets be saved for former German Chancellor Adolf Hitler or Cambodian leader Pol Pot. His campaign also received an infusion of cash following the scandal from the PAC aligned with Democratic attorneys general. At his debate with Miyares at the University of Richmond, Jones notably name-checked or referenced President Donald Trump about 50 times, painting the Republican as more interested in defending the White House than the Commonwealth of Virginia. JONES AND MIYARES CLASH OVER MURDER TEXTS AS DEM REPEATEDLY INVOKES TRUMP AT HEATED, HIGH-STAKES DEBATE Jones was seen as the least likely of the three Democratic statewide candidates to win, portending a good night for his party and a bad night for the GOP across the state. Jones’ win also adds weight to the already overwhelming power wielded by the Hampton Roads and Tidewater area in state government. Jones hails from and represented Norfolk in the House. The current House Speaker, Don Scott Jr., is from Portsmouth. Senate President pro tempore L. Louise Lucas represents Portsmouth. And Sen. Mamie Locke, the chamber’s campaign chief, is from Hampton. Only Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell does not hail from that area. He represents the heavily-Democratic Washington, D.C., suburbs centered around George Washington’s Mount Vernon. Republicans, now out of power, meanwhile will continue to have party leadership dotting the map from bustling Hanover and Henrico to the famed Trail of the Lonesome Pine in far southwestern Virginia.
Socialist shockwave: Zohran Mamdani stuns NYC as voters hand power to Democrats’ far-left flank
The Fox News Decision Desk has projected that New York City will elect Democratic Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani as its next mayor. The self-described democratic socialist toppled former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in a contentious fight for the future of New York City — and possibly the direction of the Democratic Party. Mamdani, the 34-year-old Ugandan-born state assemblyman from Queens, triggered a political earthquake when he declared victory in New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary in June, pulling an upset over a former governor who was widely expected to win the party’s nomination. He has since been catapulted onto the national stage, teaming up with progressive power duo Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., to rally New York City voters for his affordability agenda, which includes ambitious campaign promises like rent freezes, fast and free buses, city-run grocery stores and free childcare. It’s a race that President Donald Trump himself has been watching closely, labeling Mamdani a “100% Communist Lunatic” and “My little communist” — monikers Mamdani has rejected. On the eve of Election Day, Trump endorsed Cuomo and floated cutting federal funds to New York City if Mamdani won. FINAL STRETCH: MAMDANI’S LARGE LEAD SHRINKING AS CUOMO GAINS GROUND IN NYC MAYORAL RACE In the days leading up to the election, Mamdani vowed to use the “bully pulpit” and the judicial system to fight back against Trump’s “threats.” “Donald Trump may speak as if it is his decision, but this is money that this city is owed. This is money that we will expect to collect,” Mamdani said Monday. CUOMO CLOSES GAP ON MAMDANI AS NYC MAYOR RACE TIGHTENS DRAMATICALLY IN NEW POLL Mamdani’s primary success exposed a divide within the Democratic Party, which suffered big losses up and down the ballot last year and has since struggled to put up a united front against the Trump administration without clear party leadership. Cuomo resigned from office in 2021 in the face of multiple controversies, including several sexual harassment claims, which he has denied. After losing the primary he was expected to win, Cuomo challenged Mamdani as an Independent candidate in the general election, and has since charged Mamdani of being more a socialist than a Democrat. “The truth is, there’s a quiet civil war going on in the Democratic Party right now,” Cuomo told Fox News last week. “You have an extreme left. Radical left. Bernie Sanders, AOC — Mamdani is just the banner carrier for that movement — versus the mainstream moderate Democrats. They now call me moderate. They used to call me liberal. Now, I’m a moderate because the whole party shifted.” New York Democrats were reluctant to endorse Mamdani’s mayoral campaign after he secured the Democratic nomination. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer refused to endorse Mamdani, despite telling reporters he has a “good relationship with him” and that they are “continuing to talk.” Mamdani was arrested for protesting the war in Gaza and calling for a ceasefire outside Schumer’s home in Brooklyn in 2023. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries gave an 11th-hour endorsement for Mamdani after months of equivocating. The announcement came the day before early voting began. Gov. Kathy Hochul, D-N.Y., endorsed Mamdani’s campaign in September and later joined him on the campaign trail. When pressed about whether Mamdani would endorse Hochul, he refused to affirm his support for the sitting governor. Hochul will be critical to Mamdani’s plan to raise taxes on corporations and the top 1% of New Yorkers to pay for his radical campaign agenda, as a tax hike would require state approval. The governor has maintained that she will not raise taxes, which earned her some heckling at a recent Queens rally, when Mamdani’s supporters shouted, “Tax the rich!” Mamdani has faced a relentless news cycle since securing the Democratic nomination. Cuomo and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa, the founder and CEO of the Guardian Angels, have said that Mamdani would not do enough to protect Jewish New Yorkers if elected mayor. Mamdani refused to condemn the term “globalize the intifada” during the primary, widely considered a call to violence against Jews. He has since committed to discouraging others from using the term. Weeks before Election Day, a slate of prominent New York City rabbis joined more than 650 rabbis nationwide to sign “A Rabbinic Call to Action: Defending the Jewish Future,” asserting that Jewish Americans “cannot remain silent” on discrimination against Jewish people and citing Mamdani’s stances that are critical of Israel. Mamdani, who is of Indian descent, will be the first South Asian and first Muslim mayor of New York City. Religion has been a defining issue in the mayoral race, as many Jewish New Yorkers have rejected Mamdani’s positions on Israel, including his calling the war in Gaza a “genocide” and his refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish state. Mamdani has maintained that he “would not recognize any state’s right to exist with a system of hierarchy on the basis of race, of religion.” When asked during last week’s mayoral debate if Mamdani has any regrets about his “long-standing” anti-Israel views, the democratic socialist affirmed his commitment to protecting Jewish New Yorkers, as he has throughout the campaign. Mamdani has a long record of supporting the pro-Palestinian movement, including at Bowdoin College, where he founded the Students for Justice in Palestine chapter. With weeks until Election Day, Mamdani charged his opponents and Mayor Eric Adams, who ultimately suspended his re-election campaign after staying out of the Democratic primary to run as an independent, with Islamophobia for a slew of comments made about him on the campaign trail. Mamdani also faced criticism for his past comments about the New York City Police Department, including those comparing the NYPD to the Israel Defense Forces and calling the NYPD “racist, anti‑queer & a major threat to public safety” in 2020, among other insults. “I’ll apologize to police officers right here, because this is the apology that I’ve been sharing with many rank-and-file officers, and I apologize because of the