【By Chen Sijia, Observer News】On the evening of November 4th local time, the United States held multiple local elections, including the highly anticipated mayoral election in New York City, and gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia. In these three key elections, the Democratic Party achieved a "significant victory", greatly boosting the morale of the party.

The New York Times of the United States published an article on the 5th, stating that the results of the local elections indicate that the Democratic Party is gradually shaking off the shadow of its defeat in the 2024 U.S. presidential election, and still has the ability to "make a comeback" in the midterm elections next year. However, the political stances of the three winning Democrats differ, which has exacerbated internal divisions within the Democratic Party and may lead to infighting within the party.

"The Democratic Party is regrouping"

In the New Jersey gubernatorial election held on the evening of the 4th, Democratic candidate Mike Sherry defeated Republican candidate Jack Ciattarelli by a significant margin of 13 percentage points. In Virginia, Democratic candidate Abigail Spanberger also defeated Republican candidate and current lieutenant governor Wendi Thomas-El-Sheikh by a large margin of 15 percentage points.

In the highly anticipated New York City mayoral election, Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani was elected with 50.4% of the vote, defeating former New York State Governor and independent candidate Andrew Cuomo and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa.

Mamdani, a Democrat, wins the New York City mayoral election IC photo

The New York Times said that the Democratic Party suffered a major defeat in the 2024 presidential election, losing all seven swing states in the presidential election and losing control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives. However, the Democratic Party achieved significant victories in the three key local elections on November 4th, indicating that the party still has the ability to "make a comeback" in the 2026 U.S. midterm elections and the 2028 presidential election.

During the campaign, the Democrats focused on the burden of American people's lives and showed a strong willingness to "fight against the political agenda of President Trump". Analysts pointed out that Trump's policies have caused dissatisfaction among voters in many states, but Republican candidates are clinging to loyalty to Trump, which has hurt the Republican campaign.

Sherry criticized his Republican opponent last week: "It is shocking that the Republicans are united around Trump so much that a New Jersey governor candidate completely violates the interests of the state just to defend this president."

The three winning Democrats have different political positions. The New York Times pointed out that Sherry is seen as a "moderate" within the Democratic Party, Spanberger is a "centrist", and Mamdani calls himself a democratic socialist.

New Jersey Governor-elect Sherry, New York City Mayor-elect Mamdani, and Virginia Governor-elect Spanberger, photo

Democratic politician and former U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg boasted: "The election results show that we can have candidates with different opinions and styles. If they all succeed, it indicates one thing - the key is not to favor a particular path in national elections, but to focus on the issues that voters care about most."

Michigan Democratic Senator Elissa Slotkin said: "What works in Manhattan doesn't work in Virginia, and what works in Virginia doesn't work in Michigan. That's fine. Winning in different places with entirely different voters and experiences should be celebrated, not criticized."

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries claimed on social media: "Democrats are leading Trump and the Republican extremists across the country. Don't write us off too early; the Democrats are back."

In addition to the local elections, California also voted to pass a bill on November 4th to redraw the state's congressional districts, which favors the Democrats and could give them five more seats in the House of Representatives. However, the Los Angeles Times pointed out that it is unclear how much impact the bill will have on the balance of power in Congress, as Republican-majority Texas is also redrawing district boundaries.

"Big Tent" May Trigger Infighting

Some senior Democrats hope to use this local election victory to push the party into a "big tent politics" era, uniting traditional establishment Democrats and so-called "progressive" supporters of politicians like Mamdani. However, analysts believe this could also trigger internal conflicts within the Democratic Party.

The New York Times noted that as the Democratic Party tries to restore its influence and image, the party's differences on issues such as age, ideology, and campaign strategies have become increasingly apparent.

Democratic supporters celebrate Mamdani's election as New York City mayor IC photo

Howard Wolfson, former deputy mayor of New York City and a Democratic strategist, said: "Now, those who regard Spanberger and Sherry as models for campaigns and those who see Mamdani as a political model may face a conflict within the Democratic Party. Ultimately, the Democratic Party needs to determine who they want to put forward as a standard-bearer for 2026 and 2028."

Internal disputes within the Democratic Party have gone beyond closed-door meetings, strategic discussions, and private communications, with many expressing their positions publicly. For example, House Democratic Leader and New York State Congressman Hakeem Jeffries only announced his support for Mamdani at the last moment before the election, while Senate Democratic Leader and fellow New York State Senator Chuck Schumer refused to endorse Mamdani.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has publicly supported Mamdani, but during a recent campaign rally, progressive voters supporting Mamdani ignored Hochul's speech, continuously chanting "tax the rich." It wasn't until Mamdani took the stage and raised Hochul's hand that the supporters' chants subsided.

The New York Times said that this means that members of the Democratic "liberal" faction who are dissatisfied with the Trump administration may also vent their frustration on leaders of other factions within the Democratic Party.

Matthew Bennett, founder of the Democratic moderate think tank "Third Way," said: "This is a chaotic quarrel, and it won't become orderly until we enter the nomination battle. When a party loses power, its factions become disorganized."

Analysts believe that how the Democratic leadership deals with different factions within the party is still unknown, and the 2026 midterm elections may serve as a barometer. However, the victory in the local elections on November 4th still boosted the morale of the Democratic Party.

"The Democratic Party's victory sends a warning signal to the Republicans"

For the losses in New Jersey, Virginia, and New York City, the Republican Party launched "verbal attacks." Trump responded late on the 4th, saying: "According to polling agencies, the two reasons the Republicans lost the election tonight are that Trump was not on the ballot and the federal government has been 'shut down.' He did not specify which polling agency made this statement."

Republican National Committee Spokesman Mike Maranella issued a statement saying: "The Democrats have already surrendered to Mamdani and radical leftists... Every Democratic member of the House is a foolish accomplice to the downfall of their party. Voters will make them pay in 2026."

The Wall Street Journal noted that despite internal differences within the Democratic Party, the results of the local elections also exposed flaws within the Republican Party. In New Jersey, the Republican gubernatorial candidate Ciattarelli received the support of Trump, and his final vote share was 43%, almost matching Trump's poll support in the state. Similarly, in Virginia, El-Sheikh received 42% of the vote, slightly higher than Trump's 39% poll support in the state. This reflects that the support rates of Republican candidates are closely related to the state's support for Trump. Some Republicans are concerned that this will give the Democrats an advantage in the upcoming midterm elections.

The Wall Street Journal also noticed that voter turnout is usually lower in non-presidential election years, but in this local election, the total number of votes for the Democrats was closer to the level of the presidential election, indicating that Democratic voters had higher enthusiasm to vote.

Michael Duhame, former political director of the Republican National Committee, said: "These results cannot be disguised, and they are indeed unfavorable to the Republicans. The Republicans should take note of the warning signals from this election as soon as possible."

From the polls, Trump's victory in the 2024 election was partly due to the Democratic Party's over-reliance on the support of high-income voters, causing a large number of Latino, African-American, and other minority voters to turn to the Republicans. However, in this local election, these voters returned to the Democrats, with the Democratic support rate increasing by 9 percentage points in New Jersey and 5 percentage points in Virginia.

The Wall Street Journal said that the Republicans have long relied on white working-class voters, but since 2024, they have made significant progress in gaining support from more ethnic working-class voters. If the situation in this local election repeats in the upcoming midterm elections, the Republicans' electoral prospects may suffer serious damage.

This article is an exclusive piece by Observer News. Reproduction without permission is prohibited.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7569214455523885595/

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