Good morning, it’s Wednesday, November 5, 2025. In today’s edition, voters unleash a blue wave as Dems take Virginia, New Jersey; Kansas GOP drops redistricting plans, for now; California approves Prop. 50 by wide margin:
Top Stories
BLUE WAVE: A year ago, President Trump rode a wave of anger about an uneven economy, persistent inflation and stagnant wages back to the White House. On Tuesday, voters in key states showed they are still upset that they are falling behind. Add to that existing morass new frustration over cuts to government services, rising health care premiums and a persistent government shutdown, and now the discontent electorate is Trump’s problem.
Too long didn’t read: Voters have a broadly favorable view of Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R). His party lost the governorship. Voters had a broadly unfavorable view of New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D). His party kept the governorship. The common thread is that Trump’s approval rating mattered more to voters. That suggests the old adage is wrong: Today, all politics is national. (Pluribus News)
More election results in our Politics & Business section below.
REDISTRICTING: Kansas House Speaker Dan Hawkins (R) said Tuesday he would drop efforts to redraw state congressional district lines after failing to secure the necessary signatures to call a special session that was set to begin Friday. But U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids (D) isn’t out of the woods yet: Senate President Ty Masterson (R) said redistricting would be a top priority when the legislature returns to Topeka next year. (State Affairs)
MORE: Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) said he would form a five-member redistricting advisory commission helmed by U.S. Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D) to recommend new congressional district lines. The commission will pressure lawmakers to draw an additional Democratic seat over the opposition of Senate President Bill Ferguson (D). (Maryland Matters)
EVEN MORE: Utah Judge Dianna Gibson said she will rule in the coming days on a new congressional district map approved by lawmakers last month. Attorneys for the League of Women Voters of Utah and the Mormon Women for Ethical Government are still arguing that the maps relied on improper tests. Gibson is also eyeing two maps submitted by plaintiffs. (Deseret News)
SHUTDOWN: The federal government shutdown has entered its 36th day, making it the longest-ever government shutdown in history. The White House still has not scheduled any meetings with Democrats to try to break the impasse, though talks are ongoing among groups of centrist senators. (Associated Press)
IMMIGRATION: A federal judge in Rhode Island has sided with Democratic attorneys general, blocking the Trump administration from imposing immigration enforcement requirements on billions in annual Department of Transportation grants. The judge wrote that compelling state cooperation was a duty of Congress, not the Department of Transportation. (CT News Junkie)
NATIONAL GUARD: Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) has signed legislation creating a National Guard Member Benefit Fund, which would help fund child care and higher education costs for National Guard members and their families. (State Affairs)
In Politics & Business
VIRGINIA: Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger (D) took 57.5% of the vote Tuesday, drubbing Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears (R) in the worst performance for a Republican gubernatorial nominee since 1965. Former Del. Jay Jones (D) ousted Attorney General Jason Miyares (R) 53% to 47%, despite the texting scandal that faded in the race’s last week. And state Sen. Ghazala Hashmi (D) won the race for lieutenant governor 56%-44%. (Pluribus News)
MORE: As of press time, Spanberger’s margin had carried Democrats to at least 61 seats in the Virginia House of Delegates, with eight seats still undecided. It’s the first time in 40 years that a Democratic governor will take office with trifecta control. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
NEW JERSEY: Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill (D) won 56% of the vote over former Assemb. Jack Ciattarelli (R) as Democrats appeared poised to sweep to supermajority control in the state Assembly. As of this morning, Democrats will hold at least 49 seats in the 80-member Assembly, with 12 races still to be called. (Pluribus News)
NEW YORK CITY: Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani (D) completed one of the more remarkable rises in modern politics Tuesday, taking 50.4% of the vote, ahead of 41.6% for former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (I). Mamdani won four of the city’s five boroughs, trailing only in Staten Island, the most conservative part of the city. (Pluribus News)
CALIFORNIA: Voters approved Proposition 50, redrawing the state’s congressional district lines to favor Democratic candidates. With 71% of the votes tabulated this morning, the proposition was winning by a 64% to 36% margin. It’s a big win for Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), who pledged his party won’t “play with one hand tied behind our back.” (State Affairs)
PENNSYLVANIA: State Supreme Court Justices Christine Donohue, Kevin Dougherty and David Wecht all survived retention votes by easy margins, ensuring a Democratic majority on the high court for years to come. The retention votes passed with about 61% support. (State Affairs)
MISSISSIPPI: Democrats won two special elections to state Senate seats on Tuesday, ending the Republican supermajority. The special elections took place after a federal court ordered the state to create more Black-majority legislative districts earlier this year. (Mississippi Free Press)
By The Numbers
3,411,574: The number of votes counted so far in Virginia’s gubernatorial election. That’s up from the 3,288,327 Virginians who voted in the 2021 election. (New York Times) Turnout in New Jersey’s gubernatorial election jumped by more than half a million votes as well.
We’ve said it before, we’ll say it again: We’re in a golden age of voter turnout.
$16 million: The amount supporters and opponents of Pennsylvania state Supreme Court justices spent on this year’s retention races, the most ever spent in a Keystone State judicial contest. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
Wisconsin voters are not impressed.
Off The Wall
MaineHealth, a large health care system of nonprofit hospitals and health clinics, is apologizing after it inadvertently sent letters to 531 patients explaining that they are dead. The system sent new letters apologizing for the flub. (ABC News)
Michigan State Board of Education president Pamela Pugh (D) used $10,000 in leftover campaign cash from her unsuccessful run for Congress in 2024 to hire herself as a consultant. Pugh is currently running for a crucial state Senate seat in the 2026 midterms. (Detroit News)
Voting began Monday in Nebraska’s first-ever Kid Governor election. Fifth grade classrooms in the state will watch campaign videos from each of the seven finalists. The six runners-up will form a Kid Governor’s Cabinet to identify key issues facing the state. (Civic Nebraska)
What a cool idea!
Quote of the Day
“What he lacks in his jump shot technique he more than makes up for in defensive hustle.”
— New York Assemb. Alex Bores (D), in an interview with Pluribus News, on the basketball games he plays with now-Mayor-elect Mamdani.