5 things to watch out for during the US election off-year

It’s election day in the US.

These so-called “off-year” elections don’t include presidential or congressional races, but there are still a few critical votes to watch tonight.

New York will choose its next mayor in a battle that pits a younger progressive Democrat against a member of the party’s old guard. The states of Virginia and New Jersey will elect new governors, and the outcome of those races could be key to next year’s congressional midterm elections.

Californians will also decide whether to redraw U.S. House district maps in a rare mid-decade redistricting as Democrats try to counter Republican efforts to give their party an edge in next year’s midterm elections.

Here’s what you need to know.

All eyes will be on the Big Apple as Zochran Mamdani, a 34-year-old state assemblyman, tries to make a political splash in his bid to become New York’s youngest mayor in more than a century.

Mamdani, a democratic socialist, shocked the political elite when he defeated former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary this summer. Undeterred, Cuomo continued to campaign as an independent candidate. Meanwhile, Republican Curtis Plum resisted pressure to drop out of the race to make way for Cuomo.

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

Although Mamdani heads into election night with a presumed lead in the polls, the gap between him and Cuomo has narrowed. In the latest stretch of the campaign, Cuomo hit Mamdani on crime and public safety and said the young politician lacked the experience to lead America’s largest city.

California’s Democratic leadership is seeking approval from voters to redraw the state’s congressional districts in the mid-decade. That’s unusual in California, which by law relies on a nonpartisan committee to draw its congressional maps once every decade based on census data.

However, as Republican-led states like Texas and Missouri seek to hastily redraw their congressional maps to give their party an edge in the 2026 midterm elections, California Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to make up for the losses by redistribution in your own country.

California’s Proposition 50 would allow the temporary use of new congressional district maps until 2030. The campaign has attracted $158 million in donations, according to the Los Angeles Times, with Democratic supporters significantly outpacing Republican opposition efforts.

California Republicans, who hold just nine of the 52 seats in the US House of Representatives, strongly oppose the plan.

A UC Berkeley/IGS poll found that 60 percent of likely voters in California support Proposition 50, while 38 percent oppose it. The breakdown was heavily partisan, with 93 percent of Democrats saying they would vote yes and 91 percent of Republicans voting no.

New Jersey is considered a blue state, but polls show a close race between Democrat Mickey Sherrill and Republican Jack Cattarelli. 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 Chattarelli is a former member of the state assembly.

New Jersey is considered a Democratic state, but has had Republican governors. The last, Chris Christie, served two terms between 2010 and 2018.

The rhetoric in the race is heated. Chattarelli and his supporters have run political ads featuring clips of Sherrill 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 have campaigned with Sherrill. President Donald Trump attended a virtual rally for Chattarelli, and conservative activist Jack Posobiek endorsed him.

Virginia’s leadership typically swings between Democrats and Republicans, meaning the outcome of this year’s gubernatorial election could serve as a bellwether for the mood of the electorate.

No matter which candidate succeeds, the state will elect its first female governor this year. Voters will choose between Democrat Abigail Spanberger, a member of the US Congress, and Republican Winsom Earle-Sears, the state’s current lieutenant governor.

If Earle-Sears wins, she will become the first black woman elected to lead a US state in the nation’s history.

Virginia borders liberal-leaning Washington to the north, where many residents work in the nation’s capital or for the federal government. But the state also has deep pockets of conservative rural voters and swing voters.

Spanberger highlighted the economic impact of Trump’s cuts to the federal government, which have affected jobs in Virginia. Earle-Sears touts Virginia’s economy under Republican leadership. But she also took aim at cultural topics like transgender issues, which Republicans successfully used as an issue in last year’s presidential election.

Although not on the ballot, Trump’s name looms large over this election.

New York’s mayoral race is how the city’s next leader will deal with a Trump administration that has meddled in the city’s politics. Cuomo touts his experience as governor working with the first administration as a reason why voters chose him.

The president hinted that he would punish the city if voters chose Mamdani.

“It’s going to be hard for me as president to give a lot of money to New York because if you have a communist running New York, all you’re doing is wasting the money you send there.” Trump said in an interview with 60 Minutes that aired Sunday. (Mamdani is not a communist.)

Trump kicked off the redistricting battle that got California to put Proposition 50 on the ballot, and endorsed Ciatarelli in the New Jersey gubernatorial race.