Following blowout wins for Democrats on election night, the Wall Street Journal editorial board says that this is the start of the party's comeback and a stark warning for Republicans.
President Donald Trump, they write, "rolled to victory" with promises to eradicate inflation and lower the cost of living for middle class Americans.
The warning of Tuesday night's Democratic wins, they write, "is that Democrats are turning the tables on affordability, especially when they steer clear of leftist cultural snares."
In reference to the wins of Virginia Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger and New Jersey Governor-elect Mikie Sherrill, the conservative WSJ notes that "each was a cagey candidate with a centrist affect, whatever their records."
The Democratic wave, they write, "even helped challenger Jay Jones defeat incumbent Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares," showing "how little scandals matter in our partisan era, since even his fantasizing in a text message about murdering a political opponent wasn’t a career ender."
In New Jersey, where Sherrill "won with ease," the WSJ notes "it's telling" that she "tried to claim the mantle of affordability" while attacking her MAGA opponent Jack Ciattarelli as 'High Tax Jack,' based on a deceptive video clip," but that "if Democrats can convince voters they’re a better bet for getting ahead economically, the GOP is in trouble in 2026."
The WSJ says that Trump's tariffs are hurting the Republican Party, as is "the 3 percent inflation still eating away at the earnings and the raises of American workers."
Democrats had the advantage, they write, due to Trump's deepening unpopularity. "Democrats had the advantage of rallying voters upset at President Trump," they note.
Another "silver lining" from Tuesday night, they write, "is that Democrats can see a model of electoral success that isn’t rooted in radicalism."
And while in 2020 Spanberger said “We need to not ever use the words ‘socialist’ or ‘socialism’ ever again," Democractic socialist Zohran Mamdani "romped to victory," in the contentious New York City mayoral race, proving that "the challenge for Republicans is that Democrats outside New York may be learning from their 2024 defeat."