Five races to watch on Election Day 2025

Millions of voters have already cast their ballots and millions more head to the polls Tuesday in off-year elections that will decide critical ballot questions, the governors of two states and the mayor of the nation’s largest city. The elections impact the lives of nearly 41.2 million Americans, and possibly others, as candidates based their campaigns on whether voters should accept or reject President Donald Trump’s Republican Party. 

Zohran Mamdani, Andrew Cuomo, Curtis Sliwa, Proposition 50, Jack Ciattarelli, Mikie Sherrill, Winsome Earle-Sears, Abigail D. Spanberger — all are names many Americans likely recognize from political ads, news stories and debates. People in California, New Jersey, New York City and Virginia have the task of narrowing down who or what should represent them. 

Unbiased. Straight Facts.^TM

Gubernatorial, mayoral and other races on Tuesday, Nov. 4, affect more than 41 million Americans.

The races captured national attention as Trump endorsed Republicans and urged the defeat of California’s ballot question on redistricting. 

“If you vote Republican, your Energy Costs are going to go down, tremendously,” the president wrote on Truth Social Sunday, offering no specifics. “If you vote Democrat, your Energy Costs are going to go ‘through the roof,’ making Energy virtually unaffordable for you and your family to pay.”

Here are the races to watch ahead of Election Day. 

California: Yes or No on Proposition 50

Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., triggered a special election for his state after he and other Democrats pushed forward a measure to increase their party’s representation in Congress. Proposition 50 would enact new House of Representatives districts that would likely add five more Democrats to California’s congressional delegation.

If voters approve, the Democrats’ map would be in effect for the 2026 midterm elections and remain in place until after the 2030 Census. No matter the result, California’s Citizens Redistricting Commission, a nonpartisan body created through a 2008 referendum, will draw new boundaries after the decennial census.

At Newsom’s behest, state lawmakers put Proposition 50 on the ballot in response to mid-decade redistricting in Texas, which was designed to give Republicans an advantage in five congressional districts currently represented by Democrats. While the Texas legislature approved the new districts for 2026, the map is central to a lawsuit filed by several voters who said it map disenfranchises Black and Latino voters.

Through Sunday, according to the California Secretary of State, 6.6 million people had either returned their vote-by-mail ballots or voted early in person. The state has 23 million registered voters. 

Polls show the measure is likely to pass. The Public Policy Institute of California surveyed 1,707 residents between Oct. 7 and 14, and found that seven in 10 think the outcome of Proposition 50 is important to them. 

New Jersey: Jack Ciattarelli or Mikie Sherrill

Voters in the Garden State will choose a new governor to replace Democrat Phil Murphy, who hit his term limit. The choices are Republican Jack Ciattarelli, a business owner and former state assemblyman, and Democrat Mikie Sherrill, a former U.S. Navy pilot and current U.S. representative. 

Trump has endorsed Ciattarelli, while former President Barack Obama endorsed Sherrill. According to their candidate statements submitted to New Jersey’s Department of Elections, both have campaigned on making the state more affordable and cutting energy costs.

A Quinnipiac University poll released Oct. 30 found that 25% of voters said taxes would be the top issue driving their decision, while 16% said ethics in government and 14% said health care.

Fifteen polls conducted since early October all show Sherrill leading by 1 to 12 points.

Sherrill previously told WHYY, Philadelphia’s NPR affiliate, that she’s fighting against the “economic pain” from the Trump administration. Ciattarelli told the station he’s focused on policy. 

New Jersey hasn’t yet released a preliminary total of ballots cast. But as of Saturday, there are 6.6 million registered voters in the state. 

NYC mayor: Zohran Mamdani, Andrew Cuomo or Curtis Sliwa 

Likely to be the nation’s most-watched election is the decision of who gets to run the Big Apple.

Current Mayor Eric Adams, elected four years ago as a Democrat but running for re-election as an independent, ended his campaign in September. That decision left three candidates in the field: Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, a state assemblyman;, Republican nominee and Guardian Angel founder Curtis Sliwa; and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent after losing the Democratic primary to Mamdani.

The race has drawn national attention after analysts said Mamdani’s campaign quickly caught attention from Millennials and voting-eligible Gen Zers. Mamdani himself is a Millennial at 34. According to The New York Times, his campaign brought tens of thousands of young people out to vote in the primary.

Mamdani has run on reducing the cost of living in New York while taxing corporations and the wealthy, improving public safety and “Trump-proofing” the city, according to his campaign website.

Sliwa has campaigned on improving transit safety, reforming the city’s infamous jail on Rikers Island, making housing affordable and bolstering economic opportunities, according to his campaign website.

Cuomo, who resigned as governor in 2021 over sexual harassment allegations, is running on improving the city’s public school system, increasing affordability and addressing both public and subway safety throughout the city. 

According to the city’s Board of Elections, more than 735,000 voters cast early ballots. The city has 5.3 million registered voters.

Virginia governor: Winsome Earle-Sears or Abigail D. Spanberger

Virginians will fill an open governor’s seat by choosing between Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears and Democratic U.S. Rep. Abigail D. Spanberger. 

Current Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, who is not allowed to run for a second consecutive term, has endorsed Earle-Sears.

No matter the result, voters will select the first woman governor in the commonwealth’s 249-year history.

Earle-Sears is one of the few Republicans not getting a personal shout-out from Trump. She did, however, earn the endorsement from conservative firebrand Libs of TikTok, where on X the user brought up transgender people. Earle-Sears has campaigned on lowering the state’s cost of living and improving the state’s education and police force. 

Spanberger has represented Virginia’s seventh district in the House of Representatives since 2019. Before getting into politics, she served in law enforcement roles with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the CIA. 

Virginia has 6.3 million registered voters, according to the state’s Department of Elections. It hasn’t yet reported how many ballots were returned ahead of Election Day. 

Virginia attorney general: Jason Miyares or Jay Jones

In a separate election, Virginia voters will also choose between Attorney General Jason Miyares, a Republican seeking a second term, and Democrat Jay Jones, a former state legislator and attorney. 

According to Jones’ campaign website, he’s running to protect abortion and civil rights, ensure a fair justice system, hold corporations responsible for breaking rules and shield Virginia from the Trump administration. He previously faced pushback after his comments about shooting a Republican colleague resurfaced in early October. He later told an ABC affiliate that his comments were “abhorrent” and he would stay in the race. 

Trump endorsed Miyares during the fallout of Jones’ messages, according to CBS affiliate WTVR. He said in a Truth Social post that Miyares has his “complete and total endorsement” in the race. 
Miyares, the son of a Cuban immigrant, was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates before his election as attorney general in 2021, according to his campaign website. His website didn’t list issues central to his campaign but said he’s “defending the American Dream.”

The post Five races to watch on Election Day 2025 appeared first on Straight Arrow News.

Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief