By LINLEY SANDERS, AMELIA THOMSON-DEVEAUX and HYOJIN YOO, Related Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic candidates noticed victories throughout key races Tuesday, and there have been indicators there’s loads of room for the Democratic Get together to make up floor amongst teams that moved towards President Donald Trump within the 2024 election.
That discovering comes from the AP Voter Ballot, a sweeping survey of greater than 17,000 voters in New Jersey, Virginia, California and New York Metropolis that explains who voted in every election and their views on high points of their state.
Even with main wins, the survey additionally uncovered fault strains for Democrats. Younger males had been much less possible than younger girls to assist Democrats within the governor’s races, and Jewish voters in New York Metropolis appeared cautious of supporting Democratic nominee, Zohran Mamdani.
Right here’s a take a look at how key demographic teams in 2025 voted, in response to the AP Voter Ballot.
Overwhelming majority of younger voters in NYC voted for Mamdani
Mamdani, 34, would be the metropolis’s youngest mayor in over a century. Younger voters in New York Metropolis overwhelmingly backed him in his generational showdown with former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an impartial, and Republican Curtis Sliwa.
About three-quarters of New York Metropolis voters beneath 30 solid a poll for Mamdani. They had been a comparatively small portion of the town’s citizens, they usually additionally had been more likely than older voters to say it was their first time voting in a mayoral election.
Older voters had been extra prone to again Cuomo than Mamdani, however a big share nonetheless backed the Democratic nominee. About 2 in 10 Mamdani voters had been beneath 30, whereas voters for Cuomo and Sliwa skewed a lot older.
Mamdani has recognized as a democratic socialist all through his marketing campaign, following the model of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. About one-quarter of New York Metropolis voters stated they recognized as a democratic socialist, with about 4 in 10 voters in New York Metropolis beneath 30 saying they determine this fashion.
Sherrill carried out effectively amongst Black, Asian and Hispanic voters
Democrats’ sturdy performances with non-white voters in New Jersey and Virginia had been promising for the occasion, after Trump made inroads with Black and Hispanic voters in 2024.
About 7 in 10 voters in New Jersey had been white, and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mikie Sherrill received about half that group. However she made up for it with a robust exhibiting amongst Black, Hispanic and Asian voters. The overwhelming majority — about 9 in 10 — of Black voters supported Sherrill, as did about 8 in 10 Asian voters.
Hispanic voters in New Jersey had been extra divided, however about two-thirds supported Sherrill; solely about 3 in 10 voted for the Republican nominee, Jack Ciattarelli.
The sample was related in Virginia, the place Democrat Abigail Spanberger carried out effectively amongst Black voters, Hispanic voters and Asian voters, though she didn’t win a majority of white voters.
Muslim voters supported Mamdani, whereas most Jewish voters supported Cuomo
Mamdani will likely be New York’s first Muslim mayor, and he received the overwhelming majority of Muslim voters. About 9 in 10 Muslim voters supported Mamdani, in response to the AP Voter Ballot. They made up a really small voter group within the metropolis: about 4% of New York Metropolis voters had been Muslim.
No different candidate had such uniform assist from a non secular group, however Cuomo claimed the assist of about 6 in 10 Jewish voters, whereas solely about 3 in 10 solid a poll for Mamdani.
Jewish voters’ assist for Cuomo was the end result of months of hysteria and division throughout the nation’s largest Jewish group, as many citizens and leaders expressed concern about Mamdani’s harsh criticism of Israel.
About half of Jewish and Muslim voters in New York Metropolis stated the candidates’ positions on Israel had been “a significant component” of their vote.
Younger voters broke laborious for Democrats — however particularly girls
Most voters beneath 30 voted for the Democratic candidates within the New Jersey and Virginia governor’s races, and the New York Metropolis mayoral marketing campaign, however younger girls had been significantly prone to assist Democrats.
About 8 in 10 girls beneath 30 supported Sherrill in New Jersey, in comparison with simply over half of males beneath 30. That was related in Virginia, the place roughly 8 in 10 girls beneath 30 voted for Spanberger and about 6 in 10 males beneath 30 did.
There have been gender divides amongst older voters as effectively, however they weren’t as massive. Simply over half of girls ages 65 and older, as an illustration, supported Sherill, in comparison with about 4 in 10 males ages 65 and older.
Federal authorities employee households supported Spanberger
Disruptions to the federal workforce over the previous yr, together with the continuing authorities shutdown, had been felt significantly in Virginia. About 2 in 10 Virginia voters stated they stay in a family with somebody who’s at present employed by the federal authorities or as a federal contractor, in response to the ballot.
Voters with a federal authorities employee of their family had been likelier than different voters to assist Spanberger. About two-thirds of voters who stay in a family with a present federal worker or contractor voted for Spanberger, in comparison with simply over half of voters in households with out a member of the family who works for the federal government.
About 6 in 10 Virginia voters additionally reported that their household’s funds had been affected “rather a lot” or “a bit” by federal authorities cuts this yr. About two-thirds of these voters supported Spanberger, whereas about 6 in 10 voters who stated they hadn’t been affected by the cuts supported Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears.
Veteran households voted in opposition to Sherrill, however she received anyway
Veteran households didn’t again Sherrill — however she received with out their assist.
Sherrill is a Navy veteran who confronted questions surrounding a dishonest scandal throughout her time on the U.S. Naval Academy. She received about 4 in 10 voters from a U.S. army family, whereas about 6 in 10 voters in veteran households voted for her opponent, Ciattarelli. Veteran households made up about one-quarter of voters in New Jersey.
Much more Virginia voters, roughly 4 in 10, stated somebody of their family had ever served within the U.S. army. Spanberger received about half of veteran households in Virginia.
The 2025 AP Voter Ballot, carried out by SSRS from Oct. 22 to Nov. 4, contains consultant samples of registered voters in California (4,490), New Jersey (4,244), New York Metropolis (4,304) and Virginia (4,215). The AP Voter Ballot combines information collected from validated registered voters on-line and by phone, with information collected in-person from election day voters at roughly 30 precincts per state or metropolis, excluding California. Respondents can full the ballot in English or Spanish. The general margin of sampling error for voters, accounting for design impact, is plus or minus 2.0 share factors in California, 2.1 share factors in New Jersey, 2.2 share factors in New York Metropolis and a pair of.1 share factors in Virginia.
