By Andrew Rice
The Center Square

Governor’s races, city mayoral campaigns and redistricting initiatives will bring voters to the polls on Tuesday for a consequential off-year Election Day.

Elections in California, New Jersey, New York City and Virginia have captured national attention for their close poll numbers and potential to gauge the country’s political divide one year after the 2024 presidential election.

California

In California, voters will decide whether the state should set aside existing electoral maps made by an independent third party in favor of ones made by state Democrats. Proposition 50 could add as many as five more Democrat-leaning congressional districts to the U.S. House of Representatives.

California Democrats said the vote is in an effort to directly counter President Donald Trump’s attempts to add more Republican districts in Texas and elsewhere.

“With Proposition 50, California voters have the opportunity to fight back against the Republican cuts to health-care, the rising cost of living under tariffs, and the cruel abductions and forced removals of immigrants,” the California Democratic Party website reads.

In July, Trump asked Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to redistrict his state in the middle of the decade to carve five more Republican-leaning districts. This would likely give Republicans five additional seats in the U.S. House of Representatives for the 2026 midterm elections.

The Texas legislature passed the redistricting bill after protests from state Democrats. Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio have also redrawn their maps mid-decade in a nationwide effort to gain more Congressional seats in the 2026 midterm elections.

Voters in California will be the first to decide whether they approve of the efforts to redistrict congressional maps.

“Under the proposed lines, Democrats could gain up to 5 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives,” the California Democrats website reads. “With a majority in the House, Democrats can fight back against Trump and Republicans’ MAGA agenda.”

Polls are open in California from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time.

New York City

A large amount of national focus has been on the New York City mayoral race between Democrat candidate Zohran Mamdani, Republican Curtis Sliwa and Independent Andrew Cuomo.

Mamdani, a state assemblyman and self-proclaimed democratic socialist, secured a 12-point margin of victory to obtain the Democratic nomination for mayor in June. Mamdani’s win dealt a blow to Cuomo’s campaign, causing the former Democrat governor of New York to run as an independent candidate.

“The cost of living is crushing working people but Zohran believes that government can lower costs and make life easier in our city,” Mamdani’s website reads, “He’ll use every tool available to bring down the rent, create world class public transit, and make it easier to raise a family.”

More than 735,000 voters cast their ballots during a week-long early voting period that ended on Friday, according to the New York City Board of Elections.

“During Andrew Cuomo’s tenure, the state had its highest credit rating in forty years, unemployment was down in every region, and for a solid decade state spending was kept under a 2 percent cap,” Cuomo’s website reads.

President Donald Trump notably endorsed Cuomo over Republican candidate Sliwa on Sunday. Sliwa, a former radio host, is holding the Republican ticket in the race and declined several calls to drop out from prominent conservative political figures.

“As Mayor, I would make city agencies more effective by eliminating bureaucracy and increasing transparency in decision-making,” Sliwa’s website reads. “If you need a service from the city, it should be handled timely and effectively.”

Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. in New York City on Tuesday.

New Jersey

National attention has centered on tight polls in the race for New Jersey’s governor between Democrat Mikie Sherrill and Republican Jack Ciattarelli.

Sherrill has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2019. Ciattarelli is a businessman and previously served as a state legislator.

Ciatterelli lost to Democrat Phil Murphy in 2021. This year, Ciattarelli has an endorsement from President Donald Trump.

“In 2021, Jack ran for governor and re-energized the state’s Republican Party, defying media predictions and coming within a few points of knocking off the sitting incumbent governor,” Ciattarellii’s website reads.

Sherrill also touts her record as a swing candidate who is capable of defeating incumbents. She highlights a “grassroots movement” that elected her to office in 2018, defeating a Republican incumbent. Sherrill won 56.8% of the vote in 2018.

“Her campaign – where she drove an entrenched Republican incumbent out of the race – marked the biggest swing from red to blue in the country that year,” her website reads.

Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. in New Jersey.

Virginia

Another governor’s race that has received considerable national attention is the competition in Virginia between Democrat Abigail Spanberger and Republican Winsome Earl-Sears.

Earl-Sears is the current lieutenant governor of Virginia and Spanberger most recently served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Earl-Sears won alongside Republican Glenn Youngkin in 2021. The Virginia Constitution limits governors to a single four-year term, which prevented Youngkin from pursuing the governorship a second time.

Virginia’s gubernatorial race has so far been characterized by larger than normal early voting turnout, particularly for a non-presidential year.

A contentious battle has also marked the race for Virginia’s attorney general. Democrat Jay Jones’ leaked text messages, first reported by National Review, showed him talking about shooting former House Speaker Todd Gilbert.

Spanberger has been closely associated with Jones and Democrat candidate for lieutenant governor, Ghazala Hashmi. Often, the three candidates will display materials advocating for voters to elect them together.

The impact over Jones’ messages is unclear for the overall race outcome. A poll from Emerson College/The Hill has Spanberger up by 11 points, leading 55% to 44%.

Polls are open in Virginia from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time.