Voters on Tuesday will be casting ballots in U.S. state and local elections with an injection of presidential-level politics, including a pair of competitive races for governor in New Jersey and Virginia, the mayoral race in the nation’s largest city and a ballot measure in California that Democrats are counting on for next year’s elections to determine control of Congress.
The off-year elections have drawn President Donald Trump ’s attention, and no race has attracted as much lip service or social media opinions from Trump as the mayor’s race in his hometown of New York City.
Though local issues are a major factor in Tuesday’s contests, the winners take on an outsize role in a year when Trump has battled with governors and mayors as he’s deployed National Guard troops and immigration agents across cities and states. For Democrats, the offices offer a chance to push back on the president’s agenda, while Republicans see it as an opportunity to support his aims.
Here's the latest:
A special election for a Texas congressional district
The seat in the 18th Congressional District has been vacant since the death of Democratic Rep. Sylvester Turner in March. Turner was only months into his first term after serving as Houston’s mayor.
Sixteen candidates are on the ballot in the heavily Democratic district. The biggest names include Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee and Amanda Edwards, a former Houston City Council member. If no candidate gets more than 50% of the vote Tuesday, there will be a runoff.
Democrats accused Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott of delaying the special election after Turner’s death to protect the GOP’s slim majority. Abbott has said Harris County officials needed more time to prepare for the election.
Confusion has lingered because many of the district’s residents will vote in a different district next year under a redrawn map demanded by President Trump in an effort to increase the number of GOP seats.
Energy bills emerge as a flashpoint in governors’ races
One thing on voters’ minds heading into Election Day in the two states holding elections for governor was the rising cost of energy bills.
The parties were split on the solutions they were pitching to voters.
The Democratic candidates embrace clean energy options like wind and solar. Meanwhile, the two states’ Republican nominees are more closely aligned with the policies of President Donald Trump, who’s called climate change a “con job” and promotes more traditional energy sources like gas and coal.
▶ Read more about how the campaigns tackled energy costs
Cuomo all smiles as he votes in Manhattan
The former New York governor cast his ballot at a high school shortly after 10 a.m., talking and shaking hands with people at the polling location while surrounded by TV news cameras.
Wearing a suit and white shirt with no tie, he stooped over a privacy booth as he marked his choices before leisurely strolling toward an exit and making a brief stop to talk with supporters in a hallway.
Department of Justice to watch New Jersey and California
The Department of Justice said last week it would send federal election observers to California and New Jersey, following requests from their state GOP officials.
The election monitors will be in six jurisdictions: Passaic County, New Jersey, and Los Angeles, Orange, Kern, Riverside and Fresno counties in California.
Some leading Democrats in the states were critical of the move, which they said could intimidate voters.
▶ Read more about the election poll watchers
Mamdani says he would not be intimidated by Trump if elected NYC mayor
The self-described democratic-socialist said he would not cave to any threats by the president to withhold money from the city.
“I look forward to fighting for every single dollar this city is owed,” he told reporters Tuesday morning. “I look forward to utilizing every single tool at my disposal as the next mayor of this city to fight for the people of it. That means using the courts. That means using the bully pulpit. That means ensuring that we actually follow the letter of the law.
“But I will not be intimidated by this president,” he said.
Cuomo says Trump’s endorsement of him in NYC mayor’s race sends ‘important message’ to Republicans
Cuomo said President Trump telling Republicans to vote for him over Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa “could be very helpful because if they don’t vote for Sliwa, they would vote for me.”
Trump endorsed Cuomo, the former Democratic governor of New York who’s running for mayor as an independent, on Monday.
Cuomo said Trump “is pragmatic” and is telling Republicans the “reality of the situation, which is, if you do not vote, Mamdani is going to win.”
The Republican president opposes Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist, who’s ahead in the polls.
Cuomo said voters should look beyond political party and vote for him to save New York City from Mamdani.
“It’s about saving the city, and that’s not being overly dramatic,” Cuomo said on Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends,” which is one of Trump’s favorite TV news programs.
What else to watch out for on Election Day?
In Virginia, the attorney general’s race grabbed the national spotlight following reports that Democrat Jay Jones had texted a Virginia delegate in 2022 messages suggesting the then-Republican House Speaker should get “two bullets to the head.” Before the scandal, he was seen as the race’s likely winner. The Republican incumbent has focused much of his campaign on the resurfaced texts.
In Pennsylvania, voters will cast Yes or No votes on whether to retain three justices of the state’s Supreme Court 5-2 Democratic majority. Partisan control of the court could play a role in the 2028 presidential race because justices might be asked to rule on election disputes in one of the country’s battleground states.
Detroit, Pittsburgh, Jersey City and Buffalo will elect new mayors, while incumbents in Atlanta, Minneapolis and Cincinnati seek another term.
Election Day voting is underway in California
Polling sites opened at 7 a.m. Voters will decide whether to approve partisan U.S. House maps favoring Democrats.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom and other Democratic allies say the measure is a tool to counter a Trump-backed plan in Texas to help Republicans gain more congressional House seats next year.
The Department of Justice said it will send election watchers to voting centers in Los Angeles, Orange, Kern, Riverside and Fresno counties. California’s attorney general vowed to fight any disruption.
Millions of people had already cast their votes ahead of election day. As of Monday evening, 29% of ballots had been returned.
California’s polls close at 8 p.m.
NY mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani casts ballot in Queens, calls for ‘new day’ in city politics
The Democrat kicked off his busy Election Day morning schedule by voting with his wife, Rama Duwaji, at a local school.
He held a brief news conference outside afterward, wearing an “I Voted” sticker on the left lapel of his dark gray suit jacket.
“We are on the brink of making history in our city. On the brink of saying goodbye to a politics of the past,” he said.
He then embarked for several TV and radio appearances.
New Jersey responds quickly after Election Day threats against some polling places
New Jersey law enforcement and election officials responded swiftly after threats were made against several polling locations as voting began in one of two states that will be electing new governors.
Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way, who serves as the state’s top elections official, described them as emailed bomb threats targeting polling places in seven counties but said law enforcement determined there are no credible threats at this time.
New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said some polling locations had already reopened to the public, while voters at others were being directed to nearby polling locations to cast their ballot. Law enforcement officers “have worked swiftly to secure these polling locations and ensure the safety of every voter,” he said.
Bomb threats also disrupted voting across several battleground states during last year’s presidential election.
The race for Virginia governor’s mansion
Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears and Democratic U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger are looking to replace term-limited Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
The winner is set to become the first female governor in the state. An Earle-Sears’ victory would turn her into the first Black female governor of any U.S. state.
Spanberger is a former CIA case officer turned Congresswoman, and Earle-Sears is a Marine veteran.
▶ Read more about Virginia’s gubernatorial race
What races are we watching on Election Day?
In the first off-year general election of Trump’s second term, we are watching high-profile races for Virginia and New Jersey governor, New York City mayor and a proposition in California to redraw the state’s congressional map.
The results of these contests and others on Tuesday’s ballot will signal how voters are feeling about Trump’s agenda and about how Democrats are responding to it.
More than half of the states will hold contests on Tuesday.
▶ Read more about the races with national implications to be decided on Election Day
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