New Jersey Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mikie Sherrill speaks during an election night party in East Brunswick, N.J., Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025. (Matt Rourke/AP Photo)
While Mamdani's victory in the nation's most populous city is a shot in the arm for the rise of the socialist movement, it also appears to be a political gift for Republicans.
Here are three key takeaways from Election Night 2025.
Since Mamdani's Democratic mayoral primary victory in June, Republicans have repeatedly aimed to make the now-34-year-old Ugandan-born state lawmaker from New York City the new face of the Democratic Party, as they work to characterize Democrats as far-left socialists.
And as Mamdani was on his way to a roughly 9-point win in Tuesday's general election over former Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who was running as an independent, the GOP struck again.
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"Democrats have officially handed New York City over to a self-proclaimed Communist, and hardworking families will be the ones paying the price," Republican National Committee (RNC) Chair Joe Gruters claimed in a statement. "His election is proof that the Democrat Party has abandoned common sense and tied themselves to extremism."
National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) spokesman Mike Marinella charged that "the Democrat Party has surrendered to radical socialist Zohran Mamdani and the far-left mob who are now running the show."
Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate, former Rep. Abigail Spanberger celebrates as she takes the stage during her election night rally at the Greater Richmond Convention Center on Nov. 4, 2025. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Caiazzo said that the Democrats' ballot box victories show that "voters are hungry for candidates that speak to their concerns and offer to unite, not divide."
But Reed countered that "Democrat candidates winning in blue parts of the country isn't unexpected. The fact that there was any suspense at all heading into the evening was the more surprising development."
And he pointed out that "the battle for next year's midterms is taking place in friendlier terrain."
While he lost both New Jersey and Virginia in last year's presidential election, Trump made major gains in both states.
And a big question heading into the 2025 elections was whether MAGA supporters, who tend to be low-propensity voters, would cast ballots in an off-election year when Trump wasn't on the ballot.
Many didn't.
The president, in a quote on social media that he attributed to "pollsters," said that "TRUMP WASN’T ON THE BALLOT, AND SHUTDOWN, WERE THE TWO REASONS THAT REPUBLICANS LOST ELECTIONS TONIGHT."
Veteran Republican strategist Chris LaCivita, who served as a co-campaign manager for Trump's 2024 White House bid, highlighted, "Candidate quality matters. Tonight was a great lesson for the Republican Party: running squishy Rs who are lukewarm on Trump and MAGA, even in "purple" states, doesn’t work."
Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears greets supporters on Election Night in Leesburg, Virginia. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
LaCivita specifically called out Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, the GOP gubernatorial nominee who lost to Spanberger by 15 points.
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And he warned that "Republicans must get smart and run only MAGA candidates moving forward; otherwise, there will be massive turnout problems when @realDonaldTrump is not on the ballot!"
Reed emphasized that for the GOP, "the task remains re-assembling the winning Trump coalition without his name on the ballot. The good news for the Republican side is the deep bench of talented and proven leaders to carry that flag into battle."
Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in the swing state of New Hampshire. He covers the campaign trail from coast to coast."
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/key-takeaways-from-2025-elections