Blue wave? Democrats build momentum with a sweep of high-profile races in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Virginia.

Was it a blue wave?

It depends on whom you ask. But Democrats, desperate to gain traction during President Donald Trump’s second administration, will undoubtedly be encouraged by the results of Tuesday’s elections in the Mid-Atlantic region. The party won gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia; held three Pennsylvania Supreme Court seats; and saw Trump-endorsed candidates lose several contests.

This election cycle featured several unusual races, making it difficult to prognosticate on whether the year’s results hold much meaning for the future. But Democrats’ clean sweep and, in some cases, surprisingly strong margins of victory are likely to bolster the party.

The incumbent Pennsylvania justices — Christine Donohue, Kevin Dougherty, and David Wecht — faced rare GOP-funded “no” campaigns in their retention elections, which are usually uncontested.

The justices technically ran for retention as nonpartisan officials, but they were all first elected to the bench as Democrats, and party leaders, including Gov. Josh Shapiro and Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, made retaining the justices a central focus this year.

All three easily won retention just days after Trump encouraged their ouster on social media.

Philadelphia’s progressive District Attorney Larry Krasner secured a third term against self-described “lifelong Democrat” Patrick Dugan, who ran as the Republican nominee after losing to Krasner in May’s Democratic primary.

And the New Jersey governor’s race, in which U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill defeated Trump-endorsed Republican Jack Ciattarelli, was largely focused on local issues, especially affordability. The economy was also key in Virginia, where Democrat Abigail Spanberger defeated Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, a Republican.

Additionally, Virginia and New Jersey are hardly swing states, with both having given their Electoral College votes to the Democratic nominees in all three of President Donald Trump’s campaigns.

Democrats can nevertheless now head into the 2026 congressional elections with a string of high-profile wins to offer glimmers of hope for the party, which has been lost in the political wilderness since Trump’s 2024 victory.

“When you see vote swings of this margin, there’s likely to be at least some persuasion, some number of voters who are showing up just as they did in the last election but casting a ballot for the other side,” said Daniel J. Hopkins, a University of Pennsylvania political scientist.

Trump evidently was not pleased with Tuesday’s results.

Giving his version of a pollster’s analysis, the president posted on his social media website, Truth Social, at 10:05 p.m.: “‘TRUMP WASN’T ON THE BALLOT, AND SHUTDOWN, WERE THE TWO REASONS THAT REPUBLICANS LOST ELECTIONS TONIGHT,’ according to Pollsters.”

A CNN poll released this week found that Trump’s approval rating stood at 37% among registered voters, the president’s worst performance in the cable network’s surveys during his second term. About 63% said they disapproved of Trump’s performance, which was a new high.

About 47% of respondents said they would vote for Democratic candidates if the 2026 congressional races were held now, compared with 42% for Republicans.

“What you really see tonight is a through-line from New York, New Jersey, Virginia — candidates that talk about how they’re going to make life better,” Pennsylvania State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta (D., Philadelphia) said in an interview at Sherrill’s victory party.

Kenyatta, a vice chair of the Democratic National Committee, said the party’s candidates offered a vision to “make people’s lives more affordable, and how they’re going to be a backstop to the chaos and corruption that we’re seeing.”

“There are a lot of who people say, ‘We just won because of Donald Trump.’ But you don’t beat something with nothing, and our candidates had something,” Kenyatta said.

The national context was top of mind for many voters in the area.

“We live under a regime, not a government,” said Gloucester Township resident Amy Papa, 75, who voted for Sherrill. “The president is doing terrible things.”

Doylestown resident Linda Rutzkowsky said she voted for Democrats up and down the ballot because the GOP has become consumed by Trump.

“My belief is that entire party doesn’t think for itself,” Rutzkowsky said outside her polling place at the Bucks County Public Safety Training Center. “I don’t always vote single party. Right now, I feel compelled to do so.”

In Cape May, Sandra Manno, 68, linked Ciattarelli’s candidacy to what is happening in GOP-controlled Washington.

“I don’t like the way Republicans are running this country, and I don’t want Jack Ciattarelli running this state,” she said. “This one is really important.”

The midterm elections are still a year away, and Republicans could get a boost if the economy, which has shown mixed signals over the last year, heads in the right direction.

“I like the way my 401(k) has jumped enormously in the last six months,” said Andrew Bontempo, a Somerville resident who voted for Ciattarelli despite previously never having voted for a Republican. “Hopefully he keeps it up.”

Some down-ballot races on Tuesday also showed promising signs for Democrats.

In addition to Krasner easily turning away Dugan for the second time, Philadelphia City Controller Christy Brady coasted to victory against Republican Ari Patrinos.

Democrats won key local races in the Philadelphia suburbs for Delaware County Council and Bucks County district attorney and sheriff. The party’s candidates also won elections for county executive positions in Luzerne, Erie, Lehigh, and Northampton, all of which are swing counties in presidential races.

Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti, a Democrat who is hoping to unseat Republican U.S. Rep Rob Bresnahan next year, dominated her mayoral reelection campaign in the city.

And in a New York City mayoral contest headlined by two Democrats, progressive Zohran Mamdani beat former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who was endorsed by Trump.

“This looks a lot like a midterm election in which turnout is excited among the party that’s not in the White House,” Hopkins said.

Staff writers Katie Bernard, Alfred Lubrano, Gillian McGoldrick, Jason Nark, Aliya Schneider, and Vinny Vella contributed to this article.