Thank you for following the Collegian's election night coverage! We are closing out for the evening. We'll be back with our regular coverage tomorrow. Have a safe night!
Contact editor-in-chief Nick Mossman at nick.mossman@richmond.edu
Almost immediately after polls closed, outlets project that California has passed proposition 50 to change the state's congressional district boundaries to counteract Republican gerrymandering efforts in Texas.
The effort, led by California Gov. Gavin Newsom, marks yet another win for Democratic Party priorities this election.
The win comes amid a slew of Democratic victories across the country. Democrats were hoping that victories would "send a message" in opposition to the Trump administration. In some states, like Virginia and New Jersey, Democrat margins of victory far exceeded what polling anticipated.
The elections represent the first nationally-elevated contests since Trump began his second term in office. The wins are in line with a usual trend of underperformance from the party that controls the presidency. Midterm and off-year elections generally favor the opposition party. This year's races are the same, with Democrats sweeping nearly every major statewide contest tonight.
Democrats are set to retain control of the Virginia House of Delegates, locking in a trifecta in Virginia government for at least the next two years.
As of 10:30 p.m., Democrats have flipped eight seats, winning 55 of the 100 House of Delegates seats up for grabs in Tuesday’s elections. Republicans have only claimed 25 seats so far. Democrats currently lead in nine of the outstanding races. Should Democrats hold leads in all of these seats, they would be just three seats shy of a supermajority in the chamber.
The win is a boon for Democrats, who have held razor-thin margins in both the Virginia Senate and House of Delegates. Now, Democrats are on track to expand their majority alongside now Democrat Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger.
Tonight’s elections feature a wave of wins for Democrats, including moderate Democrats.
Alongside Spanberger, Democratic nominee Mikie Sherrill has been declared the winner of the New Jersey gubernatorial election.
In 2018, Sherrill was elected to the House of Representatives, flipping a Republican seat held by Republicans for decades prior. In July 2024, she was among the first House Democrats to call on former President Joe Biden to drop out of the 2024 presidential race. In this year’s race, Sherrill called on her experience as a Navy helicopter pilot and a federal prosecutor.
Sherrill’s win is the first time since 1961 that the same political party has held the New Jersey governor’s office for three consecutive terms.
Self-proclaimed Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani has won the race for mayor of New York City, defeating Democrat-turned-independent former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Mamdani defeated Cuomo in a Democratic primary for the mayorship in June. After he won, Cuomo launched a bid for mayor as an independent.
Mamdani’s victory marks a win for progressives in the Democratic Party. He has proposed universal childcare and city-run grocery stores in New York City.
His victory is notably different from other candidates tonight. Centrist Democrats, like Abigail Spanberger in Virginia and Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey, have proposed more pragmatic policies than Mamdani. Mamdani, a millenial, will become the first Muslim person to be elected mayor of New York City.
With the governor and lieutenant governor elections called, all eyes are on the attorney general race in Virginia.
Ahead of Election Day, the race was expected to be one of the closest in the commonwealth. Democrat Jay Jones originally led Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares. After a string of violent texts sent by Jones was revealed in a National Review article published in early October, polls shifted toward Miyares.
Now, all eyes are on the race as the last statewide contest to be called.
Jones leads Miyares by just under three points. Early precinct returns in Richmond have been a mixed bag for Jones, who is outperforming 2021 Democrat attorney general candidate Mark Herring in some precincts, but underperforms in a few others.
The result will test whether or not Jones will take advantage of a coattail effect led by now governor-elect Abigail Spanberger. If Jones succeeds, Democrats will control all three major statewide offices in Virginia. If he does not, Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares could be set to serve a potentially frustrating second term with four years of Democratic leadership.
Democrat Ghazala Hashmi has been declared the winner of the lieutenant governor election, becoming the first Muslim woman to be elected to statewide office in the United States.
As of 8:45 p.m., Hashmi leads by about seven points against Republican John Reid. The win gives Democrats control of the crucial tiebreaking vote in the Virginia Senate. Democrats currently hold the chamber 21 to 19, affording them one defector when voting along party lines.
Abigail Spanberger is addressing a Richmond crowd right now, soon after she was called the winner of the gubernatorial election and is slated to be the first female governor of the commonwealth.
In her speech, Spanberger is talking about her pragmatic decision making, symbolic of her status as a major moderate figure in the Democratic Party.
“We sent a message to the whole world, that in 2025 Virginia chose pragmatism over partisanship,” Spanberger said. “We chose our commonwealth over chaos.”
Spanberger, who hails from Henrico County, attended J.R. Tucker High School, which is about five miles from the University of Richmond.
In her speech, Spanberger said that she was excited to start the role of governor.
“Virginia, I cannot wait to get to work for you,” she said.
Democrat Abigail Spanberger seems to be on track to outperform former Democrat Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s numbers against Gov. Glenn Youngkin — over 10 points in some precincts. Should this performance continue, Spanberger will be on track to win by a sizable margin. While the race is still too close to call, it’s a good sign for Democrats who have hoped this election could send a message of opposition to the Trump administration.
Polls have officially closed. We now await the first round of results. As of about 10 minutes past 7 p.m., no precincts reported any results.
Polls close in 5 minutes. As results approach, Democrat Abigail Spanberger and Republican Winsome Earle-Sears have both told voters to stay out and vote. On Instagram, Spanberger posted a graphic an hour ago, reading “Virginia, if you’re in line to vote by 7pm, stay in line!” Her opponent, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears posted a photo standing with Gov. Glenn Youngkin, with a caption that urged Virginians to vote nine hours ago.
The two are set to face off in a potentially competitive election. Ahead of today, however, Spanberger has consistently led Earle-Sears in polling. A snap poll by Quantus Insights taken yesterday of over 1,000 likely Virginia voters has Spanberger up by 10 points against Earle-Sears. The poll result is a major swing from the 2021 gubernatorial election, when Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin beat former Democrat Gov. Terry McAuliffe by just under two points.
While Virginia is hosting a handful of statewide elections for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general, the bulk of the contests in Virginia are district-based in the House of Delegates tonight. According to the Virginia Public Access Project, there are 10 “competitive” races in the House of Delegates. Here are some competitive races to watch:
House of Delegates District 75: Republican incumbent Del. Carrie Coyner will face off against Democrat Lindsey Dougherty in a Chesterfield County-based race that has garnered over $5 million for both of the candidates. The two faced off once before in 2019, with Coyner winning by almost 10 points. That race only raised a fraction of what this year’s election has. And now, Dougherty has a fundraising edge of almost $1 million over Coyner.
House of Delegates District 82: Republican incumbent Del. Kim Taylor trails in fundraising against her Democrat opponent, Kimberly Pope Adams. Pope Adams has outraised Taylor by more than two to one. Like the 75th district, it has garnered over $5 million in contributions to both candidates. In particular, the House Democratic Caucus has dumped over $2 million into the race, according to VPAP.
Hello! Welcome to the Collegian’s election night blog. We’ll be posting updates as the results from Virginia’s gubernatorial, lieutenant governor, attorney general and House of Delegates elections come in.
Polls close at 7 p.m. today. If you haven’t voted already and you live in a residence hall or live in University Forest Apartments 1200 to 2107, you can vote at the Jepson Alumni Center. Students living in UFA’s 100-1107 or in the Gateway Apartments can vote at Tuckahoe Elementary School on 701 Forest Ave.
Virginia has same-day voter registration, according to the Virginia Department of Elections. If you aren’t registered to vote in Virginia, you can show up at a polling place and fill out a provisional ballot, registering to vote on election day.
Check back here this afternoon to see our first election night updates. We’ll be posting frequently starting at 6 p.m. tonight.