Democrats sweep three key races as voters express ‘buyer’s remorse’: analyst
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
Comey moves to dismiss indictment, asserting testimony to Congress was ‘literally true’
Former FBI Director James Comey asked a court to dismiss charges against him for allegedly lying to Congress, noting that the statements highlighted in the government's indictment were "literally true."
In the indictment last month, the Department of Justice claimed Comey falsely told Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) that he never gave anyone permission to leak details about an FBI investigation into Hillary Clinton.
A motion filed by Comey's attorneys on Thursday said that the Trump administration sought to punish their client "for seconds of testimony he gave in response to compound and ambiguous questioning."
"Specifically, after speaking for more than a minute, Senator Ted Cruz asked Mr. Comey to recall statements he had made three years earlier and to simultaneously address statements that Senator Cruz incorrectly claimed were made by Andrew McCabe, the former Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)," the filing noted.
According to the motion, Cruz's questions could not form the basis for an indictment under Section 1001(a)(2) of U.S. law because they were "fundamentally ambiguous."
"And, regardless, Mr. Comey’s answers to them were literally true," the motion added. "For the foregoing reasons, the indictment should be dismissed with prejudice."
In a previous motion, Comey said the “vindictive” case should be dismissed because of President Donald Trump's vendetta against him.
“President Trump posted a statement on social media that provides smoking-gun evidence that this prosecution would not have occurred but for the President’s animus toward Mr. Comey,” the filing explained.
