They made history, flipped seats, and sent a message to Donald Trump. Democratic women led a blue wave across the United States on Tuesday, in the first major election test since Trump won the presidential race one year ago.
Women edged out Republican rivals to achieve several key firsts across high-profile mayoral and gubernatorial races, while New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani announced an all-female team transition team of co-chairs.
Meanwhile, a group that endorses, funds and mentors such Democratic mums running for office, Vote Mama, reported a 90 per cent win rate across the 59 mums they had endorsed for the ballot.
Mary Sheffield (pictured above) was elected as Detroit’s next mayor and will become the first woman to lead the city. The council president defeated her Republican rival, a pastor at Triumph Church, by what is expected to be the largest winning margin in history.
“Throughout Detroit’s 324-year history, 75 mayors have led this city. Not one has been a woman,” Sheffield said in her victory speech. “But tonight, Detroit, we know that changes. And you have changed it, Detroit!”
Abigail Spangberger will be the first female Governor of Virginia after winning 57.2 per cent of the vote at the time of publishing, well ahead of the Republican candidate Winsome Earle-Searns with 42.6 per cent of the vote.
“It’s a big deal that the girls and the young women that I’ve met on the campaign now know with certainty that they can achieve anything,” Spanberger said in her victory speech. “It’s a big deal that the women older than I am who forged the path, the dreams and hard work and with the belief that change in Congress would be possible, so that so many of us would follow in their footsteps in any career and in any challenge.”
Another win came from Mikie Sherrill, who will be the first female governor of New Jersey in two decades and won the election despite polling suggesting her Republican rival had the momentum.
“When I was 18, I raised my hand and I swore to defend the Constitution, and that moment defines me. It told me that leadership means carrying the weight of other people’s hopes, standing firm when it’s easy to bend, and always putting the common good before personal gain,” Sherrill said during her victory speech.
“We here in New Jersey are bound to fight for a different future for our children. We see how clearly and how important our liberty is. We know that no one in our great state is safe when our neighbours are targeted.”
Meanwhile, the key headline from the first major electoral tests since Trump was elected President one year ago is that 34-year-old democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani won the race for New York City mayor. His all-female transition team includes former Federal Trade Commission chair Lina Khan, an aggressive antitrust regulator who looks set to support Mamdani in pushing back against what Mamdani refers to as the “oligarchy”.
Vote Mama noted a number of other key moments from election day regarding mothers running for office, including that Democratic mums flipped nine of the 13 Virginia House of Delegates seats they won. Also, Amanda Hemmingsen-Jaeger won an open Senate seat, restoring the Democrats’ one-seat majority in Minnesota.
In a statement, the group says these victories are more than just a rejection of Donald Trump.
“Voters rejected cruelty and performative politics,” said Liuba Grechen Shirley, founder and CEO of Vote Mama.
“And they chose moms who give a damn about families struggling to pay rent and parents choosing between a paycheck and picking up their kids. This was a winning message, and it was supported by decency and leadership rooted in motherhood. This election showed us something powerful: Moms are not only majority makers; they’re momentum builders, and we’re just getting started.”
But rejecting Trump is also part of the story. \
Although Trump was adamant he’s not to blame for the Republican losses. On the social media platform Truth Social he declared: “TRUMP WASN’T ON THE BALLOT, AND SHUTDOWN, WERE THE TWO REASONS THAT REPUBLICANS LOST ELECTIONS TONIGHT,’ according to Pollsters.”