Instead, the two Democrats won so decisively because they also flipped a crucial sliver of voters who said they supported Mr. Trump in 2024. Ms. Sherrill and Ms. Spanberger both won 7 percent of Mr. Trump’s supporters, according to the exit polls.

Voters may not be enthusiastic about the Democratic Party, but they are very excited about the prospect of voting against Donald Trump.

Sherrill won in the three New Jersey counties with the largest Latino populations—she carried Passaic by 15 points (Trump won by three points in 2024), she won Hudson County by 50 points (Harris won by 28) and she won Cumberland by four points, equal to Trump’s win there in 2024, according to NBC.

Democrat Mikie Sherrill wins New Jersey governor race, securing historic third consecutive Democratic term since 1961 with strong support from women and Black voters.

Last November, Donald Trump won a return to the White House amid broad national dissatisfaction with the state of the country. A year later, preliminary CNN exit polling finds, the first major electoral tests of the second Trump presidency take place with voters expressing similar pessimism and anti-incumbent sentiments despite the turnover in the Oval Office.

Democrats had a good night, winning major races including governor's races in Virginia and New Jersey and a redistricting ballot measure in California, while also confronting the future of the party.

Over 4 in 10 of New Jersey voters said that support for transgender rights in society have "gone too far," according to preliminary exit polling. Roughly another quarter said they have not gone far enough and around a quarter said support for trans rights has been about right.

Exit polls in the 2025 races in New Jersey, Virginia, New York City and California showed Trump and the economy were on the minds of voters.

Economic worries were the dominant concern as voters cast ballots for Tuesday’s elections, according to preliminary findings from the AP Voter Poll.

Mamdani began his victory speech with a quote from socialist Eugene V. Debs, saying, "The sun may have set over our city this evening, but as Eugene Debs once said, 'I can see the dawn of a better day for humanity.'"

New Jersey voters elected Democrat Mikie Sherrill as their next governor, marking the first time in 60 years either party has won the governorship for three straight terms.