On Nov. 2, local and gubernatorial elections took place across the US. However, the races in Va. and N.J. were the especially notable due to Republican victories in left-leaning states.
“I think I was both surprised and not because the current Democratic president we have is not hugely liked, even more so in blue states that Republicans won,” said junior Juliette Ochoa. “A lot of these voters wanted something different and new, which clearly, wasn’t a Democrat.”
According to the Associated Press, “Glenn Youngkin became the first Republican to win statewide office in a dozen years in Va., tapping into culture war fights over schools and race to unite former President Donald Trump’s most fervent supporters with enough suburban voters to notch a victory.”
Meanwhile, Gov. Phil Murphy, D-N.J., narrowly beat his opponent, Jack Ciattarelli, R-N.J..
“Democrats are probably quite worried by what they saw on Tuesday,” said Dr. Gary L. Rose, professor and chair in the department of government.
Across the country, cities were also hosting mayoral elections with some other feats such as the first female and Asian American mayor in Boston.
According to the Associated Press, “Democratic former police captain Eric Adams won in New York, and Boston voters elected City Councilor Michelle Wu as its first female and Asian American mayor. Cincinnati is getting its first Asian American mayor, Aftab Pureval.”
Connecticut was able to remain blue. However, Republicans still did very well in town councils and were able to flip many seats despite this information.
“The reality is Bridgeport is a democratic stronghold and will continue to be so the city will probably continue to pursue progressive policies for their constituents,” said senior Ryan Silverstein, President of the College Republicans.
While local elections may seem less important than larger presidential elections, those same issues as seen in larger elections, such as voter fraud, have been called into question.
According to the Associated Press reported “In N.J., social media users began incorrectly claiming that real-time election results from news organizations showed proof of election fraud in the state’s most populous county.”
“100% of precincts reporting does not mean 100% of all ballots have been counted. Mail ballots are not simply included with the results from individual precincts but are instead tabulated by the country and added to the results separately.”
For some, the interplay between local and national elections will allow these issues to continue to reshape and restructure future elections.
“Some of the issues, for a local race, also had broader national implications, like climate change for town council races. There is clear evidence that national issues are structuring state-wide races, and I am inclined to say yes, I am starting to see excitement,” said Rose.
While some found it too early to be called because of these claims, the Associated Press declared Gov. Murphy had won re-election Nov. 3 when a batch of votes came in to solidify Murphy’s narrow win.
However, some students do not think that it is completely over for the Democratic Party either.
“Personally, I don’t think that this isn’t complete defeat for the Democrats,” said Ochoa. “They can make a comeback if they work towards some middle ground which is clearly what these voters want and to an extent need.”
This article was edited on Nov. 10 and Nov. 16.
