After last year’s stunning electoral setbacks, Democrats needed a big night on Tuesday.

And they got it.

«Democrats Sweep Election Night, Fueling Momentum Going Into 2026 Midterms,» screamed the headline from a Democratic National Committee (DNC) email late in the evening, as the party pointed to double-digit victories in the gubernatorial elections in blue-leaning New Jersey and Virginia, and convincing victories in crucial ballot box showdowns in Democrat-dominated California and battleground Pennsylvania.

In arguably the most closely watched election this autumn, democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani made history as the first Muslim and first Millennial elected New York City mayor.

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While Mamdani’s victory in the nation’s most populous city is a shot in the arm for the rise of the socialist movement, it also appears to be a political gift for Republicans.

Here are three key takeaways from Election Night 2025.

1. The Mamdani factor

Since Mamdani’s Democratic mayoral primary victory in June, Republicans have repeatedly aimed to make the now-34-year-old Ugandan-born state lawmaker from New York City the new face of the Democratic Party, as they work to characterize Democrats as far-left socialists.

And as Mamdani was on his way to a roughly 9-point win in Tuesday’s general election over former Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who was running as an independent, the GOP struck again.

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«Democrats have officially handed New York City over to a self-proclaimed Communist, and hardworking families will be the ones paying the price,» Republican National Committee (RNC) chair Joe Gruters claimed in a statement. «His election is proof that the Democrat Party has abandoned common sense and tied themselves to extremism.»

National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) spokesman Mike Marinella charged that «the Democrat Party has surrendered to radical socialist Zohran Mamdani and the far-left mob who are now running the show.»

Socialist Zohran Mamdani won his New York City mayoral race over former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa. (Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)

And as Fox News Digital first reported on Wednesday morning, the NRCC immediately launched ads linking Mamdani to House Democrats who face challenging re-elections in next year’s midterms, when the GOP aims to defend its fragile majority in the chamber.

Longtime Republican strategist Colin Reed told Fox News Digital that Democrats «are now going to have an ascendant and emboldened Mayor-elect Mamdani dominating the national spotlight.»

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But veteran Democratic strategist Joe Caiazzo, pointing to the gubernatorial victories by moderate Democrats Rep. Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey and former Rep. Abigail Spanberger of Virginia, emphasized «tonight proved that the Democrats’ pathway back to majorities in both chambers and the White House runs directly through the idea of building a big enough tent to encompass moderates and progressives.»

2. Did Democrats get their mojo back?

Democrats lost control of the White House and Senate and failed to win back the House majority in last year’s elections, as Republicans made major gains with key parts of the Democratic Party base, including minorities and younger voters.

And Democrats have been mostly powerless to blunt President Donald Trump’s unprecedented and explosive second-term agenda.

But Democrats see Tuesday’s impressive victories as the first step in a political rebound, and an affirmation of the party’s campaign trail emphasis this year on the issue of affordability.

«American voters just delivered a Democratic resurgence. A Republican reckoning. A Blue Sweep. And it happened because our Democratic candidates, no matter where they are, no matter how they fit into our big tent party, are meeting voters at the kitchen table, not the gilded ballroom,» DNC chair Ken Martin highlighted.

And Martin argued, «To all the Republicans who have bowed a cowardly knee to Trump all year, consider this: We’re coming after your jobs next.»

Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate, former Rep. Abigail Spanberger celebrates as she takes the stage during her election night rally at the Greater Richmond Convention Center on Nov. 04, 2025. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Caiazzo said that the Democrats’ ballot box victories show that «voters are hungry for candidates that speak to their concerns and offer to unite, not divide.»

But Reed countered that «Democrat candidates winning in blue parts of the country isn’t unexpected. The fact that there was any suspense at all heading into the evening was the more surprising development.»

And he pointed out that «the battle for next year’s midterms is taking place in friendlier terrain.»

3. No MAGA momentum

While he lost both New Jersey and Virginia in last year’s presidential election, Trump made major gains in both states.

And a big question heading into the 2025 elections was whether MAGA supporters, who tend to be low-propensity voters, would cast ballots in an off-election year when Trump wasn’t on the ballot.

Many didn’t.

The president, in a quote on social media that he attributed to «pollsters,» said that «TRUMP WASN’T ON THE BALLOT, AND SHUTDOWN, WERE THE TWO REASONS THAT REPUBLICANS LOST ELECTIONS TONIGHT.»

Veteran Republican strategist Chris LaCivita, who served as a co-campaign manager of Trump’s 2024 White House bid, highlighted, «Candidate quality matters. Tonight was a great lesson for the Republican Party: running squishy Rs who are lukewarm on Trump and MAGA, even in «purple» states, doesn’t work.»

Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears greets supporters on Election Night in Leesburg, Virginia. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

LaCivita specifically called out Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, the GOP gubernatorial nominee who lost to Spanberger by 15 points.

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And he warned that «Republicans must get smart and run only MAGA candidates moving forward; otherwise, there will be massive turnout problems when @realDonaldTrump is not on the ballot!»

Reed emphasized that for the GOP, «the task remains re-assembling the winning Trump coalition without his name on the ballot. The good news for the Republican side is the deep bench of talented and proven leaders to carry that flag into battle.»

El Ministerio de Defensa de Japón envió tropas el miércoles a la prefectura norteña de Akita para ayudar a contener una oleada de ataques de osos que han horrorizado a los residentes de la región montañosa.

Se han avistado osos cerca de escuelas, estaciones de tren, supermercados e incluso un balneario de aguas termales, y se reportan ataques de estos animales casi a diario en todo Japón, principalmente en el norte.

Desde abril, más de 100 personas han resultado heridas y al menos 12 han muerto en ataques de osos en todo Japón, según estadísticas del Ministerio de Medio Ambiente a finales de octubre.

“Cada día, los osos invaden zonas residenciales de la región y su impacto va en aumento”, declaró a la prensa el vicesecretario jefe del Gabinete, Fumitoshi Sato. “Es urgente dar respuesta al problema de los osos”.

El Ministerio de Defensa y la prefectura de Akita firmaron el miércoles por la tarde un acuerdo sobre el despliegue de tropas, que autoriza a los soldados a colocar trampas con comida, transportar cazadores locales y ayudar en la eliminación de osos muertos. Los soldados no utilizarán armas de fuego para abatir a los osos, según informaron las autoridades.

El gobernador de Akita, Kenta Suzuki, dijo que las autoridades locales estaban “desesperadas” debido a la falta de personal en medio de informes diarios de ataques de osos.

El ministro de Defensa, Shinjiro Koizumi, declaró el martes que la misión contra el oso tiene como objetivo contribuir a la seguridad de la población, pero que la misión principal de los miembros de las Fuerzas de Autodefensa es la defensa nacional y que no pueden brindar apoyo ilimitado para la respuesta ante el oso. Las Fuerzas de Autodefensa japonesas ya cuentan con personal insuficiente.

Hasta el momento, el ministerio no ha recibido otras solicitudes de asistencia militar por el tema de los osos, dijo.

En la prefectura de Akita, con una población de aproximadamente 880.000 habitantes, los osos han atacado a más de 50 personas desde mayo, causando la muerte de al menos cuatro, según el gobierno local. Los expertos afirman que el 70% de los ataques se han producido en zonas residenciales.

Una anciana que buscaba setas en el bosque fue hallada muerta el fin de semana en la ciudad de Yuzawa, en la prefectura homónima, tras un aparente ataque de oso. Otra anciana, residente en la ciudad de Akita, murió a finales de octubre tras ser atacada por un oso mientras trabajaba en una granja. Asimismo, un repartidor de periódicos resultó herido tras ser atacado por un oso en la misma ciudad el martes.

Los expertos afirman que el envejecimiento y el descenso de la población en las zonas rurales de Japón son algunas de las razones del creciente problema de los osos en los últimos años.

Los barrios abandonados y las tierras de cultivo con árboles de caqui o castaño suelen atraer osos a las zonas residenciales. Una vez que los osos encuentran comida y le cogen el gusto, siguen regresando, según los expertos.

Los cazadores locales también son mayores y no están acostumbrados a la caza del oso. Los expertos afirman que la policía y otras autoridades deberían recibir formación como «cazadores del gobierno» para ayudar a controlar la población de estos animales.

La semana pasada, el gobierno creó un grupo de trabajo para elaborar un plan oficial de respuesta ante la presencia de osos para mediados de noviembre. Las autoridades están considerando realizar censos de la población de osos, utilizar dispositivos de comunicación para emitir alertas sobre su presencia y revisar las normas de caza. También recomiendan capacitar a expertos en caza y ecología.

La falta de medidas preventivas en las regiones del norte, despobladas y envejecidas, también ha provocado un aumento de las poblaciones de osos pardos y osos negros asiáticos, según informó el ministerio.

(con información de AP)

New York City socialist candidate Zohran Mamdani cruised to victory on Tuesday night, defying the laundry list of critics who railed against him over several high-profile controversial stances and statements.

Communist label

Mamdani dismissed the «communist» label throughout the campaign, maintaining that he is a democratic socialist.

His past comments promoting the abolition of private property, seizing the means of production, claiming billionaires shouldn’t exist, and calling for free government programs earned him the communist label from some, including President Donald Trump. 

Mike Gonzalez, the Angeles T. Arredondo E Pluribus Unum Senior Fellow at The Heritage Foundation, told Fox News Digital earlier this year that Mamdani is «absolutely a communist» who «repeats lines out of the ‘Communist Manifesto’ and other writings by Karl Marx.»

«When Marxists today say they are socialists, they usually want to convey the impression that they believe in elections and not just in shooting your way into power,» Gonzalez added. «Of course, that election often ends up being the last free and fair one. Witness Venezuela.»

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Anti-Israel positions

Days before the election, an antisemitism research institute released a comprehensive report that summarized its concerns about Mamdani’s stances on Israel and concluded he shouldn’t become the next mayor of New York City.

Mamdani faced heated criticism on the campaign trail, including hundreds of rabbis signing a letter opposing him for positions dating back to his time in college co-founding his school’s Students for Justice in Palestine chapter all the way up to this year when he was hesitant to definitively condemn the term «globalize the intifada.»

Mamdani sparked a political firestorm last month, drawing outrage from the law enforcement community after posting a smiling photo with Imam Siraj Wahhaj, a Brooklyn cleric who served as a character witness for the mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and has been a longtime defender of convicted terrorists, raising funds for their legal defenses.

Mamdani, a 34-year-old New York state assembly member, has been an outspoken critic of Israel and has even vowed to have Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrested if he visits New York City. 

«I call Zohran Mamdani a jihadist because he is. Zohran Mamdani is a raging anti-Semite,» New York GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik said in August. 

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«Mamdani is the definition of a jihadist as he supports Hamas terrorists which he did as recently as yesterday, when he refused to call for Hamas terrorists to put down their arms — the same Hamas terrorist group that slaughtered civilians including New Yorkers on October 7, 2023.»

In July, a Jewish advocacy group blasted Mamdani for sharing a video mocking Hanukkah Jewish traditions on social media.

Mamdani also faced criticism over the anti-Israel positions of his Columbia University professor father, Mahmood, who previously compared Abraham Lincoln to Adolf Hitler and appeared sympathetic to suicide bombers in a book he authored.

«I think critiques of the state of Israel are critiques of a government, as opposed to critiques of a people and of a faith,» Mamdani told MSNBC this week. «And my job is to represent every single New Yorker, and I will do so no matter their thoughts and opinions on Israel and Palestine, of which millions of New Yorkers have very strong views — and I’m one of them.» 

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New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani accepts an endorsement from the United Bodegas of America in the Bronx, New York City, on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025.  (Deirdre Heavey/Fox News Digital)

Defunding the police

Public safety was one of the most talked about issues on the campaign trail, resulting in a constant debate about Mamdani’s calls in 2020 to «defund the police.»

Before his mayoral campaign, Mamdani called the New York Police Department «racist» and said in 2023, «We have to make clear that when the boot of the NYPD is on your neck, it’s been laced by the IDF.»

«I think what scares a lot of New Yorkers about the policy positions taken by Zohran Mamdani over the years is that he has exhibited not just a lack of appreciation for the men and women that stand on that [police] line, but a visceral disdain for them, which has led him to push for things like defunding and dismantling the police,» Rafael A. Mangual, senior fellow and head of research for policing and public safety at the Manhattan Institute, told Fox News Digital in August, shortly after a gunman killed four people in midtown Manhattan, including a NYPD police officer. 

«It’s not so much as just that he said, well, I wanna allocate some of this money to other places. He has gone so far as to say that we should dismantle the entire department.»

Mamdani attempted to distance himself from his previous positions on the campaign trail and apologized to them in a Fox News interview in October.

«Will you do that right now?» Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum asked. 

«Absolutely,» Mamdani said, turning to face the camera directly. «I’ll apologize to police officers right here because this is the apology that I’ve been sharing with many rank-and-file officers. And I apologize because of the fact that I’m looking to work with these officers, and I know that these officers, these men and women who serve in the NYPD, they put their lives on the line every single day. And I will be a mayor.»

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New York City Democratic mayoral nominee, Zohran Mamdani, spoke to supporters at a canvass launch event in Prospect Park on Sunday, Aug. 17, 2025.  (Deirdre Heavey/Fox News Digital)

Columbus Day incident

In July, Mamdani sparked a social media firestorm after a post resurfaced of him giving the middle finger to a statue of Christopher Columbus.

«Take it down,» Mamdani posted in June 2020, along with a photo showing what is presumably his gloved hand raising the middle finger toward a statue of the famed Italian explorer in Astoria, New York.

In a post around the same time, Mamdani asked his followers in a poll who should be honored instead of Columbus with options that included, «Tony Bennett (Astoria native, music icon) Walter Audisio (Communist partisan, killed Mussolini) Sacco & Vanzetti (Executed due to anti-Italian sentiment).»

The winners of the poll were Sacco and Vanzetti, two anarcho-communists executed in 1927.

Some in the Italian community took offense to the post, according to a New York Post report, including Columbus Heritage Coalition President Angelo Vivolo.

«We will defend Columbus Day and Columbus statues,» Vivolo said. 

«He is being disrespectful to the Italian American community.» Vivolo added. «If you offend one community, you offend all communities.»

Sen. Bernie Sanders, Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez pose for a photo in Astoria, Queens, Sept. 6, 2025. (@ZohranKMamdani via X)

Despite the criticisms and opposition from high-profile lawmakers across the country, Mamdani’s campaign focused on affordability, pushing back against Trump, and taxing the rich guided him to a commanding victory on Tuesday night.

Mamdani’s victory is expected to be a rallying cry for Republicans as they look to paint him and his socialist agenda as the face of the Democratic Party heading into next year’s midterms. 

«The Democrat Party has surrendered to radical socialist Zohran Mamdani and the far-left mob who are now running the show,» National Republican Committee Spokesman Mike Marinella told Fox News Digital on Tuesday night. 

«They’ve proudly embraced defunding the police, abolishing ICE, taxing hard-working Americans to death, and replacing common sense with chaos. Every House Democrat is foolishly complicit in their party’s collapse, and voters will make them pay in 2026.» 

Fox News Digital’s Deirdre Heavey contributed to this report.