Democrats’ Comeback: Latest News & Analysis – WSJ

President Trump rolled to victory in 2024 promising to reduce inflation and make middle-class life more affordable. The warning to Republicans in Tuesday’s election results is that Democrats are turning the tables on affordability, especially when they steer clear of leftist cultural snares.

Democrats had a good night Tuesday, winning governorships in Virginia and New Jersey, which they hope foreshadows the 2026 midterms. But notice the party’s choice of nominees: Each was a cagey candidate with a centrist affect, whatever their records. Will Democratic primary voters next year elevate similar figures? Or will the party base be seduced by radicals like New York City’s Zohran Mamdani?

Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger won her race in Virginia in a rout over GOP Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears. Assuming Democrats also retain the state House of Delegates, they’ll have unified political control in Richmond. Will Ms. Spanberger now forsake her pledges of moderation, such as saying she won’t repeal the state’s right-to-work law?

Since voters broadly approve of the job that Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin has done, it will be hard to watch his conservative policies get rolled back. Ms. Sears had a slogan urging the state’s voters to “keep a good thing going.” But she didn’t have the message discipline to drive that point or push through the political headwinds for the GOP. Democrats in Washington helped by shutting down the government that employs so many Virginians.