New York mayoral elections and other things to keep in mind in the US elections

It’s election day in the United States.

Polls have opened in New York, Virginia and New Jersey, while polling stations in California will open later.

This so-called “off year” election does not include presidential or congressional races, but there are still several critical votes to watch tonight.

New York City will elect its next mayor, in a battle that has pitted a younger, more progressive Democrat against a member of the party’s old guard.

The states of Virginia and New Jersey will elect new governors, and the outcome of these races could be a benchmark for next year’s midterm legislative elections.

Californians will also decide whether to redraw their U.S. House district maps in a rare mid-decade redistricting, as Democrats try to counter Republican efforts to give their party an advantage in next year’s midterm elections.

Here are five things to watch.

All eyes will be on the Big Apple as Zohran Mamdani, a 34-year-old state assemblyman, attempts a political setback in his bid to become New York City’s youngest mayor in more than a century.

Mamdani, a democratic socialist, shocked the political establishment when he bested former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in this summer’s Democratic primary. Cuomo, undeterred, has continued to campaign as an independent. Meanwhile, Republican Curtis Sliwa has resisted pressure to drop out of the race to clear the way for Cuomo.

If Mamdani wins, he will become the city’s first Muslim mayor. Democrats across the country will be watching to see whether his focus on cost-of-living issues like rent, food and wages could serve as an effective message in future elections.

Although Mamdani enters election night with a suggested lead in the polls, the gap between him and Cuomo has narrowed. In the final stretch of the campaign, Cuomo criticized Mamdani on crime and public safety, saying the young politician lacks the experience to lead America’s largest city.

California’s Democratic leadership is asking voters for permission to redraw the state’s congressional districts by mid-decade. This is unusual in California, which by law relies on a nonpartisan committee to draw its congressional maps once a decade, based on census data.

However, as Republican-led states like Texas and Missouri seek to hastily redraw their congressional maps to give their party an advantage in the 2026 midterm elections, California Governor Gavin Newsom. wants to offset losses with redistricting in his own state.

California’s Proposition 50 would allow temporary use of new congressional district maps through 2030. The campaign has garnered $158 million in donations, according to the Los Angeles Times, and Democratic proponents far outpaced the Republican opposition’s effort.

California Republicans, who hold only nine of the state’s 52 House seats, strongly oppose the plan.

A University of California Berkeley/IGS poll suggests that 60% of likely California voters support Proposition 50, while 38% oppose it. The breakdown was highly partisan: 93% of Democrats said they would choose “yes” and 91% of Republicans chose “no.”

New Jersey is considered a Democratic state, but polls indicate a tight race between Democrat Mikie Sherrill and Republican Jack Ciattarelli. It’s one of two gubernatorial races this year that could indicate how Americans feel about the current political climate.

Sherrill currently represents New Jersey’s 11th District in Congress and Ciattarelli is a former state assemblyman.

Despite leaning blue, the state has had Republican governors in the past. The last one, Chris Christie, served two terms between 2010 and 2018.

The rhetoric in the race has become heated. Ciattarelli and his supporters have run political ads featuring clips of Sherrill giving halting answers in interviews about his policies.

It has also attracted the attention of nationally known names from both parties. Democratic stars such as former President Barack Obama and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg have campaigned with Sherrill. President Donald Trump attended a virtual rally for Ciattarelli and conservative activist Jack Posobiec endorsed him.

Virginia’s leadership often swings between Democrats and Republicans, meaning the outcome of this year’s gubernatorial election could serve as an indicator of the mood of the electorate.

Regardless of which candidate wins, the state will elect its first female governor this year. Voters will choose between Democrat Abigail Spanberger, a US congresswoman, and Republican Winsome Earle-Sears, the state’s current lieutenant governor.

If Earle-Sears wins, she will become the first Black woman elected to lead a U.S. state in the nation’s history.

Virginia is bordered to the north by liberal-leaning Washington, D.C., where many residents work in the nation’s capital or for the federal government. But the state also has plenty of conservative voters in all of its rural districts and swing voters.

Spanberger has highlighted the economic impact of Trump’s cuts to the federal government, which have impacted employment in Virginia. Earle-Sears has touted Virginia’s economy under Republican leadership. But it has also leaned into cultural issues such as transgender issues, which Republicans successfully used as a wedge issue in last year’s presidential election.

Although he is not on the ballot, Trump’s name looms over this election.

The New York City mayoral race is how the city’s next leader will deal with the Trump administration, which has meddled in city politics. Cuomo is presenting his experience as governor during the first administration as a reason for voters to elect him.

The president has hinted that he will penalize the city if voters elect Mamdani.

“It’s going to be difficult for me, as president, to give a lot of money to New York, because if you have a communist running New York, all you’re doing is wasting the money you’re sending there.” Trump said in an interview with CBS’ 60 Minutes that aired Sunday. Mamdani rejects the communist label.

Trump launched the redistricting battle that led California to put Proposition 50 on the ballot and endorsed Ciattarelli in the New Jersey gubernatorial race.