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Democrats sweep statewide races, GOP concessions, key nationwide elections | Sunrise Brief

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TOP STORIES: Democrats sweep statewide races, GOP concessions, key nationwide elections

Virginia Democrats won back all three major positions on the statewide ticket Tuesday night.

In victory speech, Spanberger, Virginia's first female governor-elect, promises to govern for all

Former Rep. Abigail Spanberger has become Virginia’s first female governor-elect. State Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, the lieutenant governor-elect from Richmond, is the first Muslim elected to statewide office. Former Del. Jay Jones unseated incumbent Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares.
“We sent a message to the whole world, that in 2025, Virginia chose pragmatism over partisanship, we chose our commonwealth over chaos," Spanberger said after becoming the presumed winner in the gubernatorial election.
Speaking to supporters Tuesday night, Spanberger pledged to fight for Virginia workers and protect reproductive rights during her tenure in Richmond. The races for attorney general and lieutenant governor polled tightened in the polls in the lead-up to Election Day. Jones' victory came after the threatening text controversy that led to him dropping in many October polls.
Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, the Republican candidate for governor, told her supporters that she will pray Spanberger will "heal our divide" by governing as a moderate.

In concession speech, Winsome Earle-Sears says she's not going anywhere

"Virginia is not a radical leftist state, and we will hold to account anyone who tries to impose on us, on us the ideology of the left. We must offer our hands of cooperation. But the gesture comes with a warning: 'Do not tread on me,'" Earle-Sears said.
"With the results in, I want those who prevail tonight to succeed, because when Virginia succeeds, we all do. It is my hope that they will pledge — like I did — to work with anyone who wants to see our commonwealth succeed." John Reid, GOP candidate for lieutenant governor, said Tuesday night. "I'm not packing up, and we are not going away. To the people that stood with us, that poured their energy into this cause: you built something that is very real."
"I will work to keep these new Republican voters in my party every day after today. Listen, Virginia's politics is like a pendulum. The public sentiment swings one way then the next. Tonight, it swung a little bit too far in the wrong direction in my opinion, and folks, it will swing back," Attorney General Jason Miyares said.
The Democratic candidates won New Jersey’s gubernatorial election and New York’s mayoral race — and, a Democratic-backed proposition passed to redistrict California.
Democrat Zohran Mamdani defeated former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in New York City's mayoral race. The former governor ran as an independent after losing to Mamdani in the Democratic primary. Cuomo, who received a last-minute endorsement from President Donald Trump despite their once-contentious relationship, failed to draw enough Republican support to mount a serious challenge.
The Associated Press projected Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill to win a close race to become the next governor of New Jersey. Sherrill defeated Republican candidate Jack Ciattarelli, a former state lawmaker who was running in his third consecutive race for governor. The victory marks the first time since 1961 that Democrats have won three consecutive terms in the New Jersey governor’s office.
Voters in California on Tuesday are projected to approve a ballot measure to redraw the state's congressional maps, which could give Democrats a new five-seat edge in the House of Representatives. The redrawing is a response to similar GOP efforts in Texas, where Republicans recently redrew boundaries to strengthen their hold on key seats.