5 Takeaways for Christians from Democrats’ Big Election Night

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Democrats hoping for their first significant victories of the second Trump administration were not disappointed on Election Night. If anything, they were elated.

The Democratic Party won from coast to coast, giving members of the party their first sliver of hope since Trump won back the White House and sparked months of soul-searching among those on the Left.

Here are five things Christians should know about Election Night 2025:

A Socialist Wins in NYC

Zohran Mamdani, a self-described socialist and the Democratic Party’s nominee, defeated independent Andrew Cuomo in the New York City mayor’s race by a margin of 50.1 percent to 40.6 percent, giving the Left its most significant win of the second Trump term. Mamdani’s positions place him well to the left of most in his party: He supports free city buses, free universal child care, and government-run subsidized grocery stores. He also wants to freeze rent hikes for the city’s residents. 

Mamdani’s positions on Israel are perhaps the most controversial. A Muslim, he described Israel’s campaign in Gaza as a “genocidal war.” He supports the right of Israel to exist as a democratic state with equal rights for all but refuses to recognize it specifically as a “Jewish state.”

Although some political pundits have touted Mamdani’s victory as one of national significance, past mayoral races within New York City offer reason for caution. Within the past three decades, Rudy Giuliani, Bill de Blasio, and Michael Bloomberg all enjoyed success as New York City mayor but failed to gain footing with a national campaign. 

President Trump endorsed Cuomo. 

Democrats Win Big in Virginia

Former Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger easily won the race for Virginia governor and, in the process, became the first female chief executive in the state. Spanberger defeated Republican nominee Winsome Earle-Sears, 57 to 43 percent. Democrats also won statewide races for attorney general and lieutenant governor. 

On the stump, Spanberger said that a mix of federal layoffs, DOGE cuts, tariffs, and the shutdown had put Virginia’s economy in peril.

“Tonight, we sent a message,” Spanberger told cheering supporters. “We sent a message to the whole world that in 2025 Virginia chose pragmatism over partisanship. We chose our Commonwealth over chaos.”

Democrats also expanded their margins in the state legislature, boosting their House of Delegates majority from 51 to at least 64 seats.

The state’s current governor, Republican Glenn Youngkin, was ineligible to run due to the state’s term limit law.

New Jersey Stays Blue

Democrat Mikie Sherrill beat Republican Jack Ciattarelli in the governor’s race, 56 to 43 percent, giving Democrats their third straight victory. She will replace Democrat Phil Murphy, who won in 2017 and 2021 but was ineligible to run for a third term. Former Gov. Chris Christie, who won in 2009 and 2013, was the last Republican to win in the state. 

Sherrill made Trump a key part of her campaign and said in her victory speech that New Jersey residents “take oaths to the Constitution, not a king.”

“With this vote, you guys just screamed from the rooftops, and people around the country have heard you,” she said, according to the New Jersey Monitor.

California Voters Approve Redistricting Measure

Voters in California passed Proposition 50, which temporarily puts the California Legislature in charge of drawing the state’s congressional districts, sidelining the state’s independent redistricting commission until after the 2030 cycle.

Proposition 50 was promoted by state Democratic leaders, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, as a way to add Democrats from California’s delegation in Washington and thus counter Republican efforts in Texas and elsewhere to redraw congressional maps in the GOP’s favor.

It will impact the 2026 congressional races, likely resulting in fewer Republicans from the state in D.C.

Prop 50 passed, 64 to 36 percent. 

It Raises a Big Question: Can Republicans Win without Trump?

Donald Trump reshaped the Republican Party and the national political landscape with strong campaigns in 2016, 2020, and 2024, but his party has yet to duplicate that success during off-year elections. 

With Trump in the White House in 2018, Democrats won back the House of Representatives. Four years later, under Joe Biden, Democrats defied historical expectations by netting one Senate seat and limiting what were expected to be major Republican gains in the House.

Trump again won’t be on the ballot in 2026, when Republicans try to defend their majorities in the House and Senate. And the next presidential race -- in 2028 -- will be the first since 2012 without his name at the top of the ticket.

Can Republicans in the Trump era win big without Trump on the ballot? The verdict is still out.

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Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel. 

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