Up First from NPR - VA NJ Governor Races, Mamdani Elected NYC Mayor, California Redistricting

Episode Date: November 5, 2025

Democrats won two governor's races in Virginia and New Jersey, victories they call a rejection of President Trump’s policies and a sign that economic issues are resonating with voters. New York City elected Zohran Mamdani as its first Muslim mayor, defeating former governor Andrew Cuomo in a race that drew record voter turnout. And California voters approved a new congressional map that could give Democrats up to five more House seats in next year’s midterms.Want more comprehensive analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter.Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Larry Kaplow, Acacia Squires, Miguel Macias, Ben Swasey, Mohamad ElBardicy and Martha Ann Overland.It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Christopher ThomasWe get engineering support from Stacey Abbott. And our technical director is Carleigh Strange.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

With large turnouts in an off-year election, Democrats scored big wins in yesterday's vote. They swept two major governor's races in Virginia and New Jersey, where voters sending a message of discontent to the White House. I'm Leila Faudil. That's A. Martinez, and this is up first from NPR News. New Yorkers made history by electing Zohran Mandani as mayor of America's largest metropolis. New York, tonight you have delivered. a mandate for change. He'll be the first Muslim for South Asian

and the youngest person to leave New York City in over a century. Despite a campaign against him laced with anti-Muslim bigotry, voters chose his message of affordability. And Californians approved a new congressional map that could give Democrats up to five more house seats in next year's midterms. Stay with us. We've got all the news you need to start your day.

President Trump was not on the ballot, but Democrats are celebrating their victories last night as a major rebuke of the president. This morning, we're looking at four races reflecting the scope of those wins. Virginia elected Democrat Abigail Spanberger as governor. We sent a message to the whole world that in 2025, Virginia chose pragmatism over partisanship. New Jersey elected Democrat Mikey Sherrill as governor. who ran against a Republican endorsed by Trump. They always say we're loud, but man, with this vote, you guys just scream from the rooftop. New Yorkers elected Zohran Mundani as their mayor, defeating former governor Andrew Cuomo also endorsed by Trump.

New York, tonight you have delivered a mandate for change. And Democrats passed a measure in California to help them fight back against. Trump's push to add more Republican congressional seats. We'll start with Virginia and New Jersey and are joined by Margaret Barthel from WAMU. So how did Spanberger pull off at a decisive win in Virginia? Yeah, she focused the whole campaign on affordability in Virginia and also talked about Trump. Virginia has hundreds of thousands of federal workers and contractors. They were, of course, affected by the Doge cutbacks and more recently the government shutdown.

here she is at her election night party in Richmond. To those across the Potomac who are attacking our jobs and our economy, I will not stand by silently while you attack Virginia's workers. Spanberger will be the state's first woman governor. She beat the Republican, Lieutenant Governor Winsom Earl Sears, who talked a lot about how transgender rights have gone too far. and what she thinks is a threat to girls in school locker rooms and bathrooms. Spanberger was a three-term Congresswoman before this and a former CIA officer

and really tried to portray herself as a centrist. And she went out of her way last night to praise Earl Sears and her service as a Marine veteran. Was Spanberger's kind of tactics similar to how Mikey Sherrill won in New Jersey because they both won by pretty big margins? Yeah, they definitely have similarities. They were in Congress together and share a background in national security. Cheryl was a Navy helicopter pilot, and they ran similar races. Cheryl also focused on affordability and pushing back on the Trump administration, particularly the decision to defund a major infrastructure project between New Jersey and New York. One difference,

as you noted in the intro, is that Trump endorsed Cheryl's Republican opponent, Chitorelli, a businessman and former state lawmaker, Trump did not directly endorse wins some Earl Sears in Virginia. But he did weigh in last night on the election results, saying in a post on truth social that he wasn't on the ballot himself, and that was why Republican struggled. Now, let's break down the campaigns a bit, because what can we take away from them, you know, the big issues and how voters saw them? Yeah, I'd say Spanberger is a test case for Democrats looking to run on economic issues. She spent a lot of time talking about her plans for tackling things like housing and energy prices, workforce training, the cost of prescription

drugs. She argued that people should vote for her to push back on the damage the Trump administration's policies are doing to the Virginia economy, which is very tied to the federal government. So she appealed to people who are maybe less political, but are worried about cost of living and also to the Democratic base, which is very upset about Trump. And it was similar for Cheryl, who also talked a lot about economics, presented herself as a centrist, and rising energy prices cropped up in both races. In Virginia, there was a lot of talk about the state's cluster of data centers and the power demand that comes with them. And in New Jersey, Cheryl has already pledged to declare a state of emergency on utility costs. That's WAMU's Margaret Barthel.

Thanks a lot. Appreciate it. Thanks. New York City voters turned out in record numbers on Tuesday to elect a new mayor. Yeah, as we mentioned, Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, defeated Andrew Cuomo, the former governor who was running as an independent candidate. Mamdani will become the city's first Muslim mayor, first Indian mayor, and at 34 years old, the youngest person to lead the city in more than a century. Member station WNYC's Bridget Bergen joins us now to talk about this historic election. Bridget, I mean, it seemed like there was a little. lot of excitement around this one. How many people voted yesterday? So we know that more than two

million people voted a, and according to the city's board of elections, that has not happened in a city mayoral race since 1969. Okay, yeah, so clearly lots of people excited. He made affordability the central message of his campaign. What do you have to say last night? So Mamdani said he had a mandate for change. His signature campaign pitch included making buses fast and free, a rent freeze for nearly two million tenants and rent-stabilized apartments and providing universal childcare to all families from six weeks to five years old. These are big, transformative and expensive proposals, but he offered voters a vision of hope and stressed that this moment was a transition from the politics of the past to a new generation.

The future is in our hands. My friends, we have toppled a political dynasty. That, of course, was a comment about defeating former governor, Andrew Cuomo, son of another former governor, Mario Cuomo. So let's talk about Cuomo for a second because he was trying to make a political comeback, but he also tried to use Mondani's background against him of the fact that he's Muslim and also an immigrant. Clearly did not work. Did Cuomo give any indication last night about his future political career? No. And, you know, this is Cuomo's second defeat to Mamdani this year.

He was running for mayor as really a form of. political redemption after resigning from office in 2021 in the face of more than a dozen women who accused him of sexual harassment, which he denied. Throughout the campaign, he said the city was in crisis and that New Yorkers were living in fear every day. And last night, there was no note of regret about how he ran his campaign. This campaign was to contest the philosophies that are shaping the Democratic Party, the future of this city, and the future of this country. Cuomo said that his campaign actually had some success because they made Momdani fight for this win. Now, President Trump endorsed Cuomo. Did Mamdani have any words for President Trump?

He did. He was quite direct, in fact. He celebrated the diversity of the coalition that helped him win in his own background. Mamdani was born in Uganda and his parents are from India. He said he will be unapologetic about his Muslim faith despite repeated attacks. And he said New York will remain a city of immigrants powered by immigrants and now a city that will be led by an immigrant. And then he said this. So hear me, President Trump, when I say this, to get to any of us, you will have to get through all of us. And now, Mamdani will be sworn into office on. January 1st. That's WNYC's Bridget Bergen. Thanks a lot. You're welcome. California voters

easily approved a ballot measure to redraw the state's congressional map to favor Democrats. That's according to a race call by the Associated Press. The votes a big win for Democrats and the partisan battle over redistricting ahead of the 2026 midterms. California Governor Gavin Newsom celebrated the result last night in Sacramento. We're proud of the work that the people of the state of California did tonight to send a message to Donald Trump. No crowns, no thrones, no kings. That's what this victory represents. Cap Radio's Laura Fitzgerald joins us now from California. So this measure, Proposition 50, why is it so significant?

Well, a Prop 50 replaces California's current congressional map, which was drawn by the state's Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission, with a new map favoring Democrats. And the new map will be in place for the next three elections, and it could yield up to five new U.S. U.S. House seats for Democrats. California Governor Gavin Newsom and other Democratic leaders here say it was needed to counter the Republican redistricting effort in Texas that created up to five new GOP seats. And President Trump called for those seats in Texas, and it kicked off this

ongoing national redistricting race. And because California is so big, it's really the only blue state that's in the position to redistrict to the Democratic advantage in any significant way and really impact Democrats' chances of reclaiming control of the House. And Governor Newsom was the big driving force behind Prop 50. Tell us about the campaign. How was it able to be successful? Yeah, Newsom has really made this redistricting measure about more than just congressional maps. The yes, campaign messaging has been all about national politics, specifically fighting back against the Trump administration.

And by emphasizing national politics, that helped the campaign because left-leaning voters really outnumbered conservatives here in California. And opponents were not able to break that partisan split? No, not really. On the no side, you mostly have Republicans. And their main argument was that Prop 50 would sideline the state's independent citizens redistricting commission that California voters approved 15 years ago. But Newsom's side won on the messaging front and they significantly outspent the opposition campaign too. Laura, what did voters tell you about why they voted a certain way? Well, I spoke with a lot of people who supported the measure, mostly all Democrats. and they told me they see California redistricting

as a chance to fight back against President Trump. They brought up things like the Trump administration's tactics for immigration enforcement, cuts to Medicare, and the federalization of National Guard troops here in the state. But my reporting also took me to parts of the state where lines would be redrawn under Prop 50, mostly Republican areas. And a lot of Republicans who oppose redistricting say

they're already a super minority in California, and now they feel like they could lose their representation altogether. All right. So what happens next in these redrawn California districts? Well, Republicans who represent these districts that will now lean Democratic, they have a decision to make. Do they run again? And if so, in which district? And meanwhile, some Democrats have already indicated they intend to run for the redrawn districts. We'll also see in a year from now whether this new map delivers five more seats for Democrats like they're hoping. All right, that's Cap Radio's Laura Fitzgerald. Laura thanks. Thank you, A.

And that's up first for Wednesday. Oh, that's sorry. Just read all. It's the Leila show, so, I mean, just do all the lines. No, I don't know. Do you all hear what I have to deal with? And that's up first for Wednesday, November 5th. And I'm Leila Faulted.

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Today's episode of Up First was edited by Larry Kaplow, Acacia Squires, Miguel Macias, Ben Swayze, Mohammed al-Bardisi, and Martha and Overland. It was produced by Ziad Bush, Nia Dumas, and Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Stacey Abbott. Our technical director is Carly Strange. Join us again

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