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Trump urged voters to pretend he’s on the ballot. In NY and NJ they listened.
By
Jon Campbell
,
Elizabeth Kim
and
Walter Wuthmann
Published Nov 4, 2026 at 6:34 a.m. ET
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Mandel NGAN / AFP via Getty Images
By
Jon Campbell
,
Elizabeth Kim
and
Walter Wuthmann
Published Nov 4, 2026 at 6:34 a.m. ET
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President Donald Trump made a simple request when he headlined a rally for New York gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman last month.
“Just pretend I’m on the ballot,” he told the crowd in Syracuse.
New York voters obliged — and Democrats are ecstatic with the results.
The blue wave that swept the nation Tuesday washed over the Empire State, where Democrats up and down the ballot outperformed already high expectations en route to significant victories across the state.
The same occurred in New Jersey, where Democrats picked up two key House seats that had been held by the GOP.
In both states, Democrats repeatedly linked their GOP opponents to Trump, knowing that polls show voters in both states largely view the Republican president unfavorably.
“Well Mr. President, you got your wish,” Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said in her victory speech Tuesday night.
The bigger-than-anticipated Democratic victories in New York and New Jersey started with the top of the ticket, with Hochul scoring a 22-point lead over the Republican Blakeman with 76% of the vote counted, according to the Associated Press.
Her performance was in stark contrast to 2022, when Hochul won her first full term by a slim 6-point margin. That year, Hochul’s relatively lackluster win in a state that has twice as many Democrats as Republicans helped lead to down-ballot losses in four key races that helped the GOP win control of the House.
That wasn’t the case this time around.
In the Hudson Valley, Democrat Cait Conley scored a victory over Rep. Mike Lawler, a Republican congressmember who had been one of the Democrats’ top targets for two straight cycles.
On Long Island, Democratic Reps. Tom Suozzi and Laura Gillen held leads of 15 and 16 points, respectively, over their opponents with roughly half the vote counted.
In New Jersey, Democrat Zack Mullock denied Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew a fifth term in Congress in a surprising upset in South Jersey, winning by roughly five points. First-time Democratic candidate Rebecca Bennett defeated embattled Republican incumbent Tom Kean in New Jersey’s 7th district, taking home nearly 60% of the vote in a race that was expected to be far closer.
The wins, coupled with Democratic victories across the country, led to Democrats controlling the House of Representatives and the Senate, according to race calls by the AP.
That would put two Brooklyn Democrats — Rep. Hakeem Jeffries and Sen. Charles Schumer — in position to become speaker of the House and Senate majority leader, respectively, come January.
Hudson Valley Rep. Mike Lawler conceded to Democratic challenger Cait Conley.
Kena Betancur/Getty Images
“Are we gonna kick some ass tonight or what?” New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who headed the Senate Democrats’ election efforts, said as she took the stage at Hochul’s victory party at the Hilton Hotel in Midtown. “The country looks very blue tonight.”
Since 2022, Hochul has partnered with Jeffries, Schumer and Gillibrand to raise tens of millions of dollars for the state Democratic Party to help fund a coordinated campaign designed to bolster turnout for candidates up and down the ballot.
A moderate, Hochul also leaned on Democrats who are much further left than she is — most notably New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — to drive up voter turnout among younger voters, whom the 68-year-old governor otherwise struggled to reach on her own.
Jasmine Gripper, state director of the left-leaning Working Families Party, said Hochul’s partnership with Mamdani and Ocasio-Cortez shows that “she knows who she needs to be with in order to win.”
“Hochul is governing well but she's also building the right coalition,” Gripper said.
Republicans, meanwhile, were largely resigned to defeat with one significant exception.
In New York’s 21st congressional district, Republican Anthony Constantino — an entrepreneur and political newcomer who aggressively courted Trump’s support — held a 2-point lead over Democrat Blake Gendebien with three quarters of the vote counted. Public-opinion polls showed Gendebien with a slight lead heading into the race.
The Republican at the top of the ticket — Blakeman, the Nassau County executive — vowed to work with Hochul and Democrats going forward.
“ You win some, you lose some,” he said in his concession speech. “The fact of the matter is that now we pull together, we move forward, we have the best interests of the people in our heart.”
In a victory speech late Tuesday, Jeffries — who could become the first Black person to serve as House speaker – said Tuesday marked a “dramatic change election.”
“We understand as House Democrats that we have to deliver dramatic change,” he said. “House Democrats are committed to making life better for you beginning on Day One.”
Includes reporting by Michael Hayes.
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new york
Jon Campbell
Jon Campbell covers the New York State Capitol for WNYC and Gothamist. Prior to that, he covered the Capitol for more than a decade for the USA TODAY Network. He has twice earned the Walter T. Brown Memorial Award, an honor given annually by the Legislative Correspondents Association alumni for outstanding state government coverage. Jon grew up in the Buffalo area and graduated from the University at Albany. Got a tip? Email Jon at [email protected] or Signal at JonCampbellNY.90.
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Elizabeth Kim
Elizabeth Kim is a reporter on the People and Power desk who covers mayoral power. She previously covered the pandemic, housing, redevelopment and public spaces. A native of Queens, she speaks fluent Mandarin. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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Walter Wuthmann
Walter Wuthmann is a reporter covering public safety and the legal system.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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