WASHINGTON (Nov 5): US President Donald Trump on Wednesday attributed the Republican Party’s poor performance in Tuesday’s elections to his absence from the ballot and the recent government shutdown.
Democrats swept key races in what was the first major election since Trump returned to the White House in January. Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani scored a surprise victory in the New York City mayoral race, while Mikie Sherrill won in New Jersey, and Abigail Spanberger became Virginia’s new governor with India-born Ghazala Hashmi elected as her deputy.
“‘Trump wasn’t on the ballot, and shutdown, were the two reasons that Republicans lost elections tonight,’ according to pollsters,” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social.
The results mark a significant setback for the GOP ahead of the 2026 midterms, underscoring Democratic momentum in several battleground states despite persistent economic and immigration challenges facing the Trump administration.