Washington, Nov 5 (AP) Democrats are dominating the first major Election Day since President Donald Trump returned to the White House.

And while a debate about the future of the Democratic Party may have only just begun, there are signs that the economy — specifically, Trump's inability to deliver the economic turnaround he promised last fall — may be a real problem for Trump's GOP heading into next year's higher-stakes midterm elections.

Democrats on Tuesday won governor's races in Virginia and New Jersey, the only states electing new chief executives this year. They also swept a trio of state Supreme Court contests in swing-state Pennsylvania and ballot measures from Colorado to Maine.

Trump was largely absent from the campaign trail, but GOP candidates closely aligned themselves with the president, betting that his big win last year could provide a path to victory this time. They were wrong.

Democrats are hoping the off-year romp offers a new winning playbook, but some caution may be warranted. Tuesday's elections were limited to a handful of states, most of which lean blue, and the party that holds the White House typically struggles in off-year elections.

Meanwhile, Republicans in Washington may be more excited than Democrats that a self-described democratic socialist will become New York City's next mayor.

Here are some top takeaways: A new Democratic playbook emerges -------------------------------------------- Former Rep. Abigail Spanberger will become Virginia's next governor — and its first female chief executive — while Rep. Mikie Sherrill won the New Jersey governor's office by running campaigns focused largely on the economy, public safety and health care.

Early results showed Democrats outperforming their margins from four years ago in fast-growing suburbs, rural areas and even places with high concentrations of military voters.

The Democrats won by actively distancing themselves from some of the Democratic Party's far-left policies and emphasising what Spanberger described in her victory speech as “pragmatism over partisanship.” A growing collection of Democratic leaders believes the moderate approach holds the key to the party's revival after the GOP won the White House and both congressional chambers last year.

Above all, the Democrats in both states focused on rising costs such as groceries, energy and health care, which Trump has struggled to control.

In addition to tacking to the middle on economic issues, Spanberger and Sherrill downplayed their support for progressive priorities, including LGBTQ rights and resistance against Trump's attack on American institutions. Spanberger rarely even mentioned Trump's name on the campaign trail.

Both also have resumes that appealed to the middle.

Spanberger is a former CIA case officer who spent years abroad working undercover, while Sherrill spent a decade as an active-duty helicopter pilot for the Navy before entering Congress. Both played up their public safety backgrounds as a direct response to the GOP's attack that Democrats are soft on crime.

It's (still) the economy, stupid ------------------------------------ Trump and his Republican allies have been especially focused on immigration, crime and conservative cultural issues.

But voters who decided Tuesday's top elections were more concerned about the economy, jobs and costs of living. That's according to the AP Voter Poll, an expansive survey of more than 17,000 voters in New Jersey, Virginia, California and New York City, suggesting that many voters felt they can't get ahead financially in today's economy.

Ironically, the same economic anxieties helped propel Trump to the White House just one year ago. Now, the economic concerns appear to be undermining his party's political goals in 2025 — and could be more problematic for the GOP in next year's midterm elections, which will decide the balance of power for Trump's final two years in office.

That's even as Trump regularly brags about stock prices booming and boasts about leading a new renaissance of American manufacturing.

About half of Virginia voters said the economy was the most important issue facing their state, while most New Jersey voters said either taxes or the economy was the top issue in their state. Just over half of New York City voters said the cost of living was their top concern.

It was unclear whether kitchen table concerns weighing so heavily on voters might help break the impasse that has prompted the government shutdown, which has spanned more than a month.

A referendum on Trump ----------------------------- This was the first major election day since Trump returned to the White House. And voters rejected candidates and causes aligned with Trump's Republican Party from Virginia and Pennsylvania to Maine and New Jersey.

They also expressed strong feelings about the direction of the country under his leadership.

About 6 in 10 voters in Virginia and New Jersey said they are “angry” or “dissatisfied” with the way things are going in the country today, according to the AP Voter Poll. Just one-third said they are “enthusiastic” or “satisfied.” In a sign of the extent of the GOP's struggles, Republicans lost the Virginia attorney general's race to Democrat Jay Jones, who was forced to apologise after text messages surfaced weeks before Election Day in which he depicted the murder of political opponents.

Fearing a bad night, Trump tried to distance himself from the election results.

The president endorsed Ciattarelli in New Jersey but held only a pair of tele-town halls on his behalf, including one Monday night. Trump also did a Monday night tele-town hall for Virginia Republican candidates, but he focused mostly in favour of the GOP candidate for attorney general, who also lost.

Despite Trump's distance, his policies — including his “big, beautiful” budget bill and his massive cuts to the federal workforce — played a central role in Virginia, New Jersey and even New York City's mayoral contest. And the Republicans in each refused to distance themselves from the president or his agenda.

The results left the president ducking blame.

“TRUMP WASN'T ON THE BALLOT, AND SHUTDOWN, WERE THE TWO REASONS THAT REPUBLICANS LOST ELECTIONS TONIGHT,” according to pollsters, he posted on his social media account.

Trump planned to have breakfast on Wednesday at the White House with Senate Republicans who have so far opposed his calls to end the shutdown by abandoning the legislative filibuster, the 60-vote minimum needed to pass most major legislation through the Senate.

A new star for Democrats (and Republicans) in New York City ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Moderates won in Virginia and New Jersey. But it was a self-described democratic socialist who cruised to victory in New York City.

Zohran Mamdani, a 34-year-old state legislator who backs radical changes to address economic inequality, will serve as the next mayor of the nation's largest city.

His bold agenda and inspirational approach helped generate the largest turnout in a New York City mayoral race in at least three decades. It also spooked some business leaders and voices in the Jewish community, who otherwise support Democrats but oppose some of Mamdani's past statements about personal wealth accumulation and Israel.

Trump, who actually endorsed Mamdani's independent opponent, former Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, falsely called Mamdani a communist on the eve of the election.

Some Republicans in Washington were quietly rooting for a Mamdani victory. Even before his win was final, Republican campaign committees launched attack ads against more than a dozen vulnerable House Democrats in New York and New Jersey, linking them to Mamdani and his far-left politics.

The ad campaign is expected to extend to Democrats across the country ahead of next year's midterms.

More Democratic wins --------------------------- The Democratic successes extended beyond Virginia, New Jersey and New York.

In Pennsylvania, Democrats swept all three elections for state supreme court justices. The wins could have implications for key cases involving redistricting and balloting for midterm elections — and the 2028 presidential race — in the nation's most populous swing state.

Conservative causes struggled on ballot questions in other states as well.

Maine voters defeated a measure that would have mandated showing an ID at the polls while approving a “red flag” rule meant to make it easier for family members to petition a court to restrict a potentially dangerous person's access to guns.

Colorado approved raising taxes on people earning more than USD 300,000 to fund school meal programs and food assistance for low-income state residents.

And in California, Gov. Gavin Newsom, frequently mentioned as a 2028 presidential hopeful, led a triumphant charge to redraw congressional maps to give Democrats as many as five more House seats in upcoming elections.

The push is the centrepiece of a Democratic effort to counter new Republican maps in Texas and elsewhere that were drawn to boost the GOP's chances in next year's fight to control Congress. For the new maps to count in 2026, however, Californians had to vote on a yes-or-no ballot question known as Proposition 50. It was easily approved. (AP) SKS SKS