Democrats hope for a 'shot in the arm' in next week's elections

Plus, what we can (and can't) learn from Tuesday's contests

From the Politics Desk Thursday, October 30, 2025 In today's edition, Bridget Bowman and Adam Edelman report from New Jersey and Virginia on how Democrats are looking for a momentum boost from their gubernatorial campaigns. Plus, Jonathan Allen previews the spin we can expect to hear from various factions next Tuesday.   — Adam Wollner   Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here to receive it weekdays. Democrats hope for a 'shot in the arm' in New Jersey and Virginia after 2024 losses By Bridget Bowman and Adam Edelman   Democrats are hoping this year's gubernatorial contests in New Jersey and Virginia fire up their supporters not just in those states but across the country, as they look to move on from a brutal 2024 campaign cycle in which they lost the White House and the Senate, and as polls show the party remains broadly unpopular.   "Winning cures a lot of the ills, right? It shows people we're back on track," Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin told NBC News as he knocked on doors earlier this month in Medford, New Jersey.   "But we've been winning," Martin added, pointing to the party's overperformance in special legislative elections this year, noting that each victory is "another shot in the arm for Democrats to give them a sense that we have a plan, we know what we're doing, we're back, and that we're going to win in '26 and then again in '28."   National Democrats have viewed the contests in New Jersey and Virginia as a key test of their message on economic issues — a point of emphasis voters said was sorely lacking from the party last year.   Mike Sherrill and Abigail Spanberger have done just that, building out campaigns focused on lowering the cost of living. But they've both faced a delicate balancing act on a host of other hot-button issues that have given the Democratic Party fits in recent election cycles, including transgender rights and immigration.   With just days to go before the election, polls show Spanberger with a consistent lead in Virginia over GOP Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, while surveys show the race in New Jersey between Sherrill and Republican Jack Ciattarelli remains close.   But if Spanberger and Sherrill emerge victorious in the blue-leaning states, it's certain that Democratic operatives will look to emulate the candidates' approach in crafting a message for many of the party's candidates in the 2026 midterm elections. We spoke with Democratic officials, officeholders, candidates, operatives and voters as we reported across New Jersey and Virginia in the homestretch of the campaign. Read more here → More from the 2025 campaign trail: Republican groups are dumping millions of dollars into their campaigns for governor and attorney general in Virginia in the final stretch, Ben Kamisar and Adam Edelman note.  After Earle-Sears' campaign bus caught on fire as she was on her way to a campaign event earlier today, she said everyone was safe, Owen Auston-Babcock reports.  Do you have a news tip for our politics team? Tell us discreetly. What we can – and can't – learn from next week's elections Analysis by Jonathan Allen   If Zohran Mamdani wins the New York City mayor's race Tuesday as expected, it will be a moment of "I told you so" triumph for the Bernie Sanders wing of the Democratic Party — and the MAGA wing of the Republican Party.   Both are sure to claim that a Mamdani victory is proof that moderate, business-friendly Democrats are dinosaurs. The Sanders Democrats will say that progressivism is ascendant. President Donald Trump will call the same phenomenon the rise of socialism.   But Mamdani is the Democratic nominee for mayor in an overwhelmingly Democratic city. It would be surprising if he lost to fringe Republican Curtis Sliwa or former Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who lost to Mamdani in the primary and is now running as an independent. Moreover, there's a good chance that Democrats who ran more centrist campaigns for governor in Virginia and New Jersey will also be elected Tuesday.   The only real shock would be if one or more of these candidates lost one year into a second Trump administration that has energized his critics.   The data nerds in the two parties will get useful information about how segments of the electorate shift — or don't — in the statewide races in Virginia and New Jersey, where Trump lost by nearly identical margins of less than 6 points in 2024. But the rest of the country should avoid the trap of predicting next year's midterms based on who wins races in three jurisdictions that have favored Democrats in recent years.   Unless. There are two caveats here. The first is that Republican wins in New Jersey, Virginia or both would appropriately send another shock through the Democratic Party's central nervous system. Likewise, Republicans should be very concerned if one year of the Trump administration translates into significantly wider victories for Democratic gubernatorial candidates in Virginia and New Jersey than Kamala Harris' last year.   But the likeliest scenario is that Democrats win all three marquee contests — and by margins that show variance from the 2024 results within a few points.   If that happens, expect both progressive and centrist Democrats to claim that their approach is best — and for Republicans to keep their focus on Mamdani, who figures to appear in nearly every GOP ad against Democrats between now and next November. 🗞️ Today's other top stories 🤝 Trump-Xi meeting recap: Trump said after meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping that he was lowering tariffs in exchange for a crackdown on fentanyl and that he would visit China in April. Here's more on what they didn't agree to during their sit-down.   🌏 Rolling out the red carpet: On his three-country tour of Asia, Trump received a warm welcome from foreign leaders and showcased a diplomatic style rooted in personal rapport and dealmaking. Read more →   👀 Testing, testing: Trump said he instructed the Defense Department to "immediately" start testing nuclear weapons "on an equal basis" with other nations. The last confirmed nuclear test by the U.S. was in 1992. Read more →   ➡️ New strike: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Pentagon carried out another "lethal kinetic strike" on a vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean that killed four people. Read more →   ⬅️ The purge: The Justice Department placed two federal prosecutors on administrative leave after they described the Jan. 6 defendants pardoned by Trump as a "mob of rioters." Read more →   🎤 On the road: Vice President JD Vance took questions from the audience at a Turning Point USA event at the University of Mississippi, with students grilling him on issues like immigration and religion. Read more →   🗺️ Redistricting update: Ohio Republican and Democratic lawmakers are set to agree to a deal on a new congressional map that would give a slight, but not overwhelming, boost to the GOP ahead of next year's midterm elections. Read more →   Follow live politics updates → That's all from the Politics Desk for now. Thanks to Owen Auston-Babcock for helping compile today's newsletter. If you have feedback — likes or dislikes — email us at politicsnewsletter@nbcuni.com.   And if you're a fan, please share with everyone and anyone. They can sign up here. Want to receive Breaking News & Special Alerts in your inbox? SIGN UP HERE Check out more NBC News newsletters. 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