When President-elect Trump is inaugurated on January 20, Republicans will officially control the White House and both houses of Congress.
And while political attention in 2025 will remain focused on the new administration and the Republican majority in Congress as they aim to shake up the nation’s capital, some high-profile ballot box showdowns across the country will draw attention as a barometer of whether Trump and the electoral momentum of the Republicans can be maintained.
And for the Democrats, who aim to rebuild after suffering setbacks in the 2024 elections. Elections outside the year 2025 it can’t come soon enough.
THIS REPUBLICAN MAY BE THE NATION’S FIRST BLACK GOVERNOR
President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a press conference at Mar-a-Lago, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP/Evan Vucci)
New Jersey and Virginia are the only two states in the country to hold a gubernatorial election the year after a presidential election, and because of their place on the calendar, both attract a lot of national attention.
And Virginia is often seen as a vanguard of the national political climate and what Americans think of a party in the White House. The party that wins the presidency has lost successive Virginia gubernatorial elections in recent decades, with only one exception.
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Governor Glenn Youngkin, three years ago, he became the first Republican in a decade to win a gubernatorial election in Virginia, a once key swing state that has been shaded blue in recent cycles.
But Virginia is unique because of its state law that prevents governors from serving two consecutive four-year terms, so Youngkin cannot run for re-election next year.
Virginia Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin rallies on behalf of GOP legislative candidates ahead of the state’s closely watched election, in Norfolk, Virginia, November 2, 2023. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
The candidate to succeed Youngkin is a Republican Lieutenant Governor Winsome Searswho will go down in history as the first black female governor in the country.
In a recent interview with Fox News Digital, Sears emphasized that “I don’t really want to write history. I’m just trying, like I said before, to leave it better than I found it, and I want everyone to have the same opportunities that I had.”
WHAT AWAITS THIS POPULAR REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR WHEN HE REMOVES OFFICE IN A YEAR
Sears, who was born in the Caribbean island nation of Jamaica and immigrated to the US as a six-year-old, served in the Marines and is a former state legislator. She made history three years ago when she won election as Virginia’s first female lieutenant governor.
Democratic Party in three mandates Representative Abigail Spanberger, a former CIA operative representing a conservative-leaning district is her party’s candidate for governor.
One of them will probably go down in history as the first woman elected governor of Virginia.
Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears, the 2025 Republican candidate for governor, sits for an interview with Fox News Digital on Dec. 19, 2024, in Virginia Beach, Va. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
Democrats currently control both houses of the Virginia legislature, having flipped the House of Delegates in the 2023 election. All 100 House seats will be up for grabs in 2025, as Republicans aim to regain majorities in both the House and state Senate, where special elections will be held for two members who recently won congressional elections.
With little electoral competition, expect outside groups to pour millions of outside money into Virginia’s 2025 state and legislative showdowns.
In a blue state New JerseyTrump has dramatically increased his support at the ballot box in the 2024 election.
He came within six points of losing to Vice President Kamala Harris in the state in November, a dramatic improvement from his 16-point loss to President Biden in New Jersey in the 2020 presidential election.
Trump’s showing is encouraging Republicans that they can win the governorship in a state where Democrats control the government and enjoy a large voter registration advantage over the GOP.
Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, who won the 2017 and 2021 gubernatorial elections, is term-limited, and a crowded field of Democrats and Republicans is preparing to try to succeed him.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy speaks during a news conference in Newark in August. The Garden State’s Democratic governor is term-limited and cannot seek re-election in 2025. (AP/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)
The New Jersey gubernatorial election, like the Virginia election, is sure to attract the attention and resources of outside groups.
The same will be true of the 2025 elections, which will determine whether Democrats maintain their majorities on state supreme courts in two key battleground states – Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
The mayoral elections in the most populous city in the country will attract attention in the new year.
FILE – New York City Mayor Eric Adams speaks to reporters after a news conference in New York, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
New York’s Democratic mayor, former police captain Eric Adams, has been indicted on federal corruption charges.
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Although he says he will seek a second term as New York’s leader, the race could attract a number of opponents, including former New York state Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who resigned in 2021 amid scandal.
