NYC mayoral election and other things to watch in US elections

Today is election day in the USA.

Voters in New York are lining up to choose a new mayor, while Virginia and New Jersey will decide a pair of high-profile gubernatorial races. California voters will weigh whether to redraw their state's U.S. House district maps.

This so-called “off-year” election does not include presidential or congressional races, but there are still several important votes to watch tonight.

The battle for mayor of New York pits a young progressive Democrat against a member of the party's old guard.

In Virginia and New Jersey, the outcome of the gubernatorial elections could be a deciding factor in next year's midterm congressional elections.

Californians are voting on a rare mid-decade redistricting as Democrats try to resist Republican efforts to give their party an edge in next year's midterm elections.

Here are five things to consider.

All eyes will be on the Big Apple as Zoran Mamdani, a 34-year-old state legislator, tries to create a political scandal in his bid to become New York's youngest mayor in more than a century.

Mamdani, democratic socialist, shocked the political establishment when he defeated former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary this summer. Cuomo, undeterred, continued campaigning as an independent candidate. Meanwhile, Republican Curtis Sliwa is resisting pressure to drop out of the race to clear the way for Cuomo.

If Mamdani wins, he will become the city's first Muslim mayor. Democrats across the country will be watching to see whether his focus on cost-of-living issues such as rent, groceries and wages can send an effective message in future races.

Although Mamdani heads into election night with a projected lead in the polls, the gap between him and Cuomo has narrowed. In the final stages of the campaign, Cuomo criticized Mamdani on issues of crime and public safety and said the young politician lacked the experience to lead America's largest city.

California's Democratic leadership is asking voters for permission to redraw the state's congressional districts mid-decade. This is unusual in California, where by law a nonpartisan committee draws congressional maps once a decade based on census data.

But as Republican-led states like Texas and Missouri rush to redraw their congressional maps to give their party an advantage in the 2026 midterm elections, California Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to compensate for losses by redistricting in your own state.

California's Proposition 50 would temporarily allow new congressional district maps until 2030. The campaign has raised $158 million in donations, with Democratic supporters vastly outnumbering the efforts of the Republican opposition, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Republicans in California, who hold only nine of the state's 52 House seats, strongly oppose the plan.

The UC Berkeley/IGS poll shows that 60% of likely California voters support Proposition 50, while 38% oppose it. The breakdown was highly partisan, with 93% of Democrats saying they would choose “yes” and 91% of Republicans choosing “no.”

New Jersey is considered a Democratic state, but polls show a close race between Democrat Mickey Sherrill and Republican Jack Ciattarelli. It's one of two gubernatorial races this year that could show how Americans feel about the current political climate.

Sherrill currently represents New Jersey's 11th Congressional District, and Ciattarelli is a former state legislator.

Despite the blue tint, the state has had Republican governors in the past. The latest, Chris Christie, served two terms from 2010 to 2018.

The rhetoric in the election race was heated. Ciattarelli and his supporters ran political ads that included clips of Cheryl giving hesitant answers in interviews about her politics.

It also attracted the attention of nationally known names from both parties. Democratic stars such as former President Barack Obama and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg campaigned with Sherrill. President Donald Trump attended the virtual rally in support of Ciattarelli, and conservative activist Jack Posobiec supported him.

Virginia's leadership typically swings between Democrats and Republicans, meaning the outcome of this year's gubernatorial elections could serve as an indicator of the mood of the electorate.

Regardless of which candidate is successful, the state will elect its first female governor this year. Voters will choose between Democrat Abigail Spanberger, a U.S. congresswoman, and Republican Wince Earl-Sears, the state's current lieutenant governor.

If Earl-Sears wins, she will become the first black woman elected to the post of head of the US state in the history of the country.

To the north, Virginia borders liberal Washington, D.C., where many residents work in the nation's capital or for the federal government. But the state also has deep pockets of conservative voters in all rural counties, as well as swing voters.

Spanberger highlighted the economic impact of Trump's cuts to the federal government, which have impacted employment in Virginia. Earl-Sears touted Virginia's Republican-led economy. But she is also passionate about cultural issues such as transgender issues, which Republicans successfully used as a wedge in last year's presidential election.

Although he is not on the ballot, Trump's name is on this election.

The mayoral race in New York is about how the city's next leader will fight the Trump administration, which has meddled in city politics. Cuomo cites his experience as governor during his first administration as the reason voters choose him.

The president has made it clear that he will punish the city if voters choose Mamdani.

“It would be difficult for me as president to give New York a lot of money, because if New York is run by a communist, all you do is spend the money you send there,” Trump said in an interview with CBS' “60 Minutes” that aired Sunday. Mamdani rejects the communist label.

Trump launched the redistricting battle that put Proposition 50 on the ballot in California and endorsed Ciattarelli in the race for governor of New Jersey.