November 4th marked a pivotal night in the world of politics. There were multiple local and statewide elections going on nationwide, but these races have impacts nationwide. Why?

The local and statewide races across the country, which usually occur in the years between the presidential elections, are essentially a referendum on the party in power; a public poll on the performance of the Presidential Administration and majority in Congress. If voters are unhappy with the party in power, then they’ll vote against it in the local races. 

Here are some key races from Tuesday night:

• New Jersey Gubernatorial Race
  • Representative Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ-11) won the election for governor in New Jersey and will be inaugurated on January 20, 2026.
  • Representative Sherrill received over 56% of the vote, which is a significantly larger lead than shown in the polls, as well as a much larger lead than Governor Murphy won in 2021. 
  • The Governor-Elect will be the first Democratic female governor in New Jersey history. This election also marks the first time since 1961 that any party in New Jersey has won three consecutive terms for the governorship.
• Virginia Governor Race
  • Representative Abigail Spanberger (D-VA-07) won the governorship in Virginia and will be inaugurated on January 18th, 2026. 
  • Representative Spanberger won over 57% of the vote, flipping the state from Republican Governor Youngkin. While Virginia’s governorship typically flips parties, this is the largest landslide in the state since 2009. 
  • The Governor-Elect will be the first female governor in Virginia history. 
• New York City Mayor Race
  • New York City Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani (D-36) won the mayorship in New York City and will be inaugurated on January 1st, 2026.
  • Assemblyman Mamdani won 50.4% of the vote, with a lead of approximately 9% over independent candidate Andrew Cuomo. The Republican candidate, Curtis Sliwa, won just 7.1% of the vote. 
  • The Mayor-Elect will be the first Muslim and first South Asian mayor of the city. 
• California Proposition 50 Race
  • Proposition 50, also labeled as the “Election Rigging Response Act”, is an amendment to the California State Constitution.
  • Upon approval of the proposition, the state is to redraw the congressional district maps to gerrymander 5 extra Democratic seats in the House of Representatives.
  • This proposition was proposed by Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom and approved by the Democratic State Legislature in response to the redistricting done in Texas, which eliminated 5 Democratic seats. 
  • 64.5% of voters approved this proposition, meaning that these new maps will be in effect for the 2026 Election until the 2030 Election. 

In all of these races, Democrats swept. The two parties have very different interpretations of these races, though.

Many Republicans believe that these results are insignificant, with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA-4) noting that “…blue states and blue cities voted blue… Off-year election results are not indicative of what’s to come.” Additionally, President Trump, in a Truth Social post, claimed that the government shutdown was the reason for the Republicans’ losses. 

Democrats, however, believe that the results of these races are indicative of President Trump’s and the Republican controlled Congress’s performance over the past year, with Senator Andy Kim (D-NJ) saying that “People want leaders that are focused on affordability… I took away a crystal clear message from the election.” The true determination of this, however, will be during next year’s midterm elections. 

Locally, there were three races that students specifically should take note of: the Board of Education races. The Board of Education is responsible for the big picture decisions of the district, like hiring the superintendent, developing policy, and taxing and spending. 

This year, there were 3 seats up for grabs on the FRHSD Board of Education:

• Englishtown Borough (0.5 votes)
  • Board Member Diana Cappiello won reelection to represent Englishtown on the FRHSD Board of Education.
  • She ran unopposed and received over 11,500 votes. 
• Farmingdale Borough (0.5 votes)
  • Board Member Kathie Lavin won reelection to represent Farmingdale on the FRHSD Board of Education.
  • She ran unopposed and received over 12,500 votes. 
• Howell Township (1 vote)
  • Zack Metzger, a student at Colts Neck High School, won the election to represent Howell on the FRHSD Board of Education.
  • Metzger’s election marks a historic moment, with him being one of the youngest elected officials in the state and the first student to hold a voting seat on the FRHSD Board of Education. 
  • He received over 67.05% of the votes, coming out to over 10,700 votes. 

Note: these results are unofficial until Monmouth County certifies all results on November 19th; however, a significant percentage of the votes have been counted to call the races.