'Big trouble': Data expert shows why Trump is 'absolutely a drag on Republican candidates'
Following a long list of Democratic victories on Tuesday night, November 4, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) argued that the election results weren't a big deal. New Jersey and Virginia are blue states, Johnson insisted — and the fact that Democrats won their gubernatorial races, he said, wasn't surprising.
But Virginia is a swing state with a Republican governor, Glenn Youngkin — not a deep blue state. And while New Jersey — where Democratic nominee Mikie Sherrill won by double digits — is blue, isn't deep blue like Massachusetts, Maryland or California.
CNN's Harry Enten offered analysis of the election results on Thursday morning, November 6. And he emphasized that President Donald Trump was a key factor in Tuesday's many Democratic victories.
"I think there are a lot of Republicans who saw those polls that showed Donald Trump low nationally, and they didn't necessarily believe them," Enten told CNN's Sara Sidner. "But for Democrats, those polls are real. And they are spectacular."
Enten pointed to election data on a screen, comparing election results in Virginia and New Jersey's gubernatorial races for 2017 and 2025. In New Jersey in 2017, Enten noted, 82 percent of voters who disapproved of Trump went Democratic; in 2025, the number was 93 percent. For Virginia, that number was 87 percent in 2017 compared to 92 percent in 2025.
Enten told Sidner, "If there is any idea that Republicans are going to be able to outrun Donald Trump's low approval ratings, this says nuh-uh — they're going to be like Impalas getting chased down in the African desert by a big lion…. The bottom line is this: what those results on Tuesday night showed us is that Donald Trump is absolutely a drag on Republican candidates in New Jersey and Virginia — likely nationwide…. If you are in a state where Donald Trump is underwater, you are in big, big trouble."
When Sidner asked Enten what the election results mean "nationally," he pointed to Trump's low approval ratings in polls from CNN, CBS News, ABC News and NBC News and noted how "underwater" he is. And Enten also pointed out that in retention elections, three Democratic Pennsylvania Supreme Court justices enjoyed landslide wins.
"My goodness gracious, he's down there with the Titanic," Enten told Sidner. "And this is what is turning in for the Republican Party. That result on Tuesday night was a Titanic proportion, just absolutely awful result. New Jersey, Virginia, Pennsylvania — in terms of those judgeships, those Supreme Court judgeships, essentially, you know, retaining those judges — all the Democratic candidates won…. What we are talking about at this particular point is Donald Trump is absolutely a drag."
Enten continued, "I spoke about it on Monday. That's what we thought was going to happen. And that is exactly what did happen. Donald Trump, at this point, is an absolute drag on these Republican candidates. We saw it on Tuesday night and nationally. I expect that result to hold because at this point, Donald Trump is at his Term 2 lows."
When Sidner pointed out that Democrats, on the whole, are unpopular in many polls, Enten pointed out that voters who have an unfavorable view of the Democratic Party voted for Virginia Gov.-elect Spanberger and New Jersey Gov-elect Sherrill in big numbers regardless.
According to Enten, Sherrill won 66 percent of voters who view the Democratic Party unfavorably; Spanberger won 56 percent of them."
"It doesn't necessarily matter, it turns out, that the Democrats are viewed that unfavorably," Enten told Sidner. "Because amongst those who like neither party, the Democrats ran away with it."
