MILLIONS of Americans have cast ballots at polling stations across the country to choose a range of local lawmakers and state governors.
Tuesday’s round of national voting marks Donald Trump’s first major electoral challenge of his second term – and includes a special referendum in California.
In Virginia, Democrat congresswoman Abigail Spanberger beat Republican Winsome Earle-Sears to become the state’s first female governor.
The East Coast state – usually seen as a battleground between Republican and Democrat leaders – chose the liberal candidate who was the heavy favourite.
The governor’s mansion has therefore been flipped after incumbent Republican governor Glenn Youngkin won in 2021.
Experts say Virginia‘s high concentration of federal workers in the north who have been impacted by Trump’s workforce cuts and the government shutdown may have helped swing favour for the Democrat nominee.
The former Congresswoman’s win is the first of what appears to be many for the Dems on Tuesday night as the they maintain strong polling leads elsewhere.
Meanwhile in New Jersey, Democrat Mikie Sherrill has beaten her Republican opponent Jack Ciattarelli.
Sherill currently represents New Jersey’s 11th Disctrict in Congress, while Ciattarelli is an ex-state assemblyman who ran for Governor in 2021.
New Jersey typically leans blue, but has had Republican governors in the past – the latest being Chris Christie who served two terms between 2010 and 2018.
New Jersey and Virginia are the only two states this year electing new governors – and are expected to reflect the public’s stance on Trump’s second term so far.
In California, votes are still being counted for a unique ballot called Prop 50.
This is a special election to decide whether the state should redraw its district maps to help Democrats win more seats in future elections.
The move is seen as a response to other US states including Texas changing their own district boundaries in what us known as gerrymandering.
It is an unusual precedent – as California usually relies on a nonpartisan committee to draw its congressional maps once every decade based on census data.
If Prop 50 passes, it will be a temporary measure until 2031 – when the independent Citizens Redistricting Commission would resume drawing border lines.
But all eyes are on New York City, where self-described Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani is expected to become the city’s youngest mayor in a century.
The 34-year-old has been slammed by the US president – with Trump branding him a “communist” and threatening to withhold federal funds from New York if Mamdani wins.
The Ugandan-born Queen assemblyman faces off Independent candidate Andrew Cuomo, 67, who has been backed by Trump, and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa, 71.
Voters have headed to polling booths in 30 different states to determine all sorts of roles – from school board governors to mayors.
Local elections, including ballots for Virginia‘s House of Delegates and votes on Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court among others are also taking place across the nation.
