National News

California voters handed Democrats yet another victory on an already action-packed election night, passing Proposition 50.

The ballot measure, passed and championed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, is a response to President Donald Trump's push for GOP-controlled states to rig their congressional district maps to give themselves extra seats and eliminate Democratic representatives — plans which have already been passed in Texas, Missouri, and North Carolina.

Under Proposition 50, the state's nonpartisan redistricting commission is temporarily suspended until the next Census, and a map is passed that seeks to eliminate five Republican congressional districts in California.

The measure was supported by a number of lawmakers and groups that generally oppose partisan gerrymandering, as an emergency measure to prevent Republicans from being able to block voters from voting out their majority in next year's midterm elections.

Democrats swept three key statewide races during Tuesday's election, propelled by voters expressing "buyer's remorse" over President Donald Trump's second administration, according to one analyst.

CNN's Van Jones joined the network's election night coverage to discuss Democrats winning key races in New Jersey, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and New York City. His comments come at a time when Democrats are seeking to ride the wave of enthusiasm into the 2026 midterm election.

"One of the things that I think people are seeing, not just from [Zohran] Mamdani, but from the moderates as well, is this focus on kitchen table issues," Jones said. "We used to talk about this in weird ways. Income inequality, wealth disparity, economic justice. It was people describing a problem that they didn't have."

"Now you got people who are talking like the people who have the problem," he continued. "I can't afford nothing. And somebody who can talk that way, whether on the left of our party or the middle of our party, is going to have a big audience. And this buyer's remorse that's setting in now from other people is a big problem for the Republicans."

Democrats picked up some big gains in statewide elections on Tuesday.

In Virginia, Democrats won the Governor, Lt. Governor, and Attorney General races. The race for Governor was called less than an hour after the polls closed, and experts have suggested that enthusiasm for Democrat Abigail Spanberger helped buoy other Democrats down the ticket.

Voters in New Jersey also elected Democrat Mikie Sherrill over Republican Jack Ciattarelli. CNN's John King said the election results were "a warning shot" for the White House.

Democrats also picked up seats in Georgia's Public Service Commission, which is the first time Democrats have controlled a non-federal office in the state in two decades.

Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani also won the mayoral election in New York City over Trump-backed former mayor Andrew Cuomo. delete

CNN election expert John King was floored on Tuesday night after New Jersey's voters elected a Democrat as the state's next governor.

Democrat Mikie Sherill was projected to win the state's governor's seat against Republican Jack Ciattarelli. Sherill's race was called after she won 56% of the vote with more than three-quarters of precincts reporting, according to CNN.

What surprised King the most was that Sherill outperformed Kamala Harris's efforts during the 2024 campaign against President Donald Trump.

"This is definitely a warning shot across the bow of the White House and I would say the Republican Party," King said. "Donald Trump won big just a year ago in 2024. This is America saying we're still not happy. And you're in charge now, and we're not happy."

He also found that Sherill had flipped the five counties Trump won during his campaign against Harris, which is an obvious warning sign for Republicans.

"That's called 'Never mind, we're going back to vote for the Democrats,'" King said.