By Bo Erickson
(Reuters) -Voters in New York City, New Jersey, Virginia and California will cast ballots on Tuesday for a mayor, two governors and a redistricting measure - early tests of Democratic and Republican
strategies ahead of next year's congressional midterm election.
NEW YORK CITY MAYOR
New York City's mayoral race is always watched closely as the city is the nation's financial capital and its leaders' decisions often influence national political discourse, at least for the locally dominant Democratic Party.
That's why the race between Zohran Mamdani, a 34-year-old, fresh-faced state lawmaker who won the Democratic nomination, and Andrew Cuomo, the state's former Democratic governor running as an independent, is so closely watched. The election pits Mamdani's progressive stances against Cuomo, 67, and his more establishment views, making the case for his qualifications over Mamdani's newfound influence.
Both candidates carry political baggage. Mamdani has faced scrutiny for identifying as a democratic socialist and for past remarks on Israel and the NYPD, while Cuomo’s 2021 resignation over sexual harassment allegations clouds his potential return.
Another wild card: how the radio host, Republican Curtis Sliwa, staying in the race splits the vote. Sliwa is the founder of the Guardian Angels, famous for citizen anti-crime patrols of the subways during the gritty 1980s.
VIRGINIA GOVERNOR
Two races for governor this year could serve as a measure of voter sentiment on the performance of Republican President Donald Trump nine months into his second term.
This is especially true for voters in Virginia, adjacent to Washington, D.C., who have been affected by his administration's handling of a government shutdown and budget cuts.Former U.S. Representative Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat, is leaning into her moderate record in Congress as she faces Winsome Earle-Sears, the state's Republican lieutenant governor, who plays to her conservative base by questioning Spanberger's record.
One certainty: either choice means the state will have its first female governor.
NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR
In New Jersey, Democratic U.S. Representative Mikie Sherrill -- a moderate with military experience first elected to Congress alongside Spanberger in the 2018 midterm election during Trump's first term -- faces Republican businessman and former state lawmaker Jack Ciattarelli, in a race that has focused on affordability issues.
On paper, Democratic voters outnumber Republicans, but conservatives hope that Trump's increasing popularity in the state means a Republican could pull off an upset. Opinion polling has shown a tightening race.
CALIFORNIA REDISTRICTING
A ballot measure in California, if passed, would lead to redrawing congressional districts meant to help Democrats in the 2026 midterm election.
Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom and the state assembly said they pursued the changes, which would essentially erase five Republican-held districts, after Trump earlier this year encouraged conservative Texas to reconfigure its congressional districts to favor Republican candidates in five Democratic-represented districts.
Trump's move was an unusual partisan effort to maintain the Republicans' majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, now at 219-213, because redrawing congressional maps usually happens after the national census every decade to adjust for state population changes.
(Reporting by Bo Erickson; Editing by Scott Malone and Howard Goller)
