4 major election results: NJ, Va. state races, NYC elects democratic socialist Mamdani, Calif. passes Prop 50

2. New Jersey: Democrats win the governorship, trifecta continues 

Like Virginia, the governorship in New Jersey was open this year, as Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy is term-limited. Democrat Mikie Sherrill has defeated Republican Jack Ciattarelli, keeping the governorship in Democratic hands. With 93% of the vote counted, Sherrill has won 56.2% of the vote to Ciattarelli’s 43.2%. 

With Sherrill scheduled to take office as the next governor of New Jersey, her seat in the U.S. House of Representatives will become vacant and must be filled in a special election. New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District supported Democrat Kamala Harris by 9 percentage points in the 2024 presidential election, making it likely that the district will remain in Democratic hands.  

All 80 seats in the New Jersey General Assembly were also on the ballot. Democrats have held onto the chamber by capturing both seats in 27 districts, while Republicans won both seats in eight districts.District 30 is slated to send one Republican and one Democrat to the General Assembly, while the results in the remaining seats are too close to call. 

The trifecta in New Jersey will continue for at least the next two years, as seats in the Democrat-controlled New Jersey Senate are not up until 2027.