Millions of Americans are called to the polls this Tuesday, November 4, to elect mayors in cities like New York and Miami, governors in states like New Jersey and Virginia, or to decide on a new electoral map for congressional elections in California, almost a year after the victory of President Donald Trump, whose influence in some of these races will be put to the test this Tuesday.
In total, more than 30 states will hold elections that will serve to measure the political pulse of the country after nine months of Trump’s second term, not without controversy, while the Democratic Party seeks to recover from the setback before the mid-term elections. Here are the most relevant aspects of the key elections on November 4.
New York, the hope of the left
MASSIVE turnout in New York
More than 1.4 million votes cast – the most since 2001 #NYC pic.twitter.com/HX1q1KnI4e
– JUST IN | World (@justinbroadcast) November 4, 2025
One of the races that has gained the most prominence in this election Tuesday is the New York City mayoral race.
The Democratic candidate, Zohran Mamdani, leads the latest polls followed by independent Andrew Cuomo, former governor of the state, and Republican Curtis Sliwa.
Mamdani, who if he wins the election as polls predict would become the city’s first Muslim mayor, and the youngest since 1892, represents the most left-leaning wing within the Democrats.
During the campaign he has been accused of being a populist, or a “communist” as Trump classifies him, who on Monday called for a vote for Cuomo, even though he criticized him harshly during his time as a Democratic governor.
The victory of Mandani, representative of a rising progressive wing in the orbit of a fading Democratic Party, could be a setback for a Trump who always wanted to make his mark in his native New York.
Thirteen candidates for the Miami mayoral race
Visiting with #TeamEmilio members throughout #Miami.
Ran into my attorney, former @flcourts Justice Alan Lawson @LawsonFirm.
He led the great team that argued the case against @CityofMiami on my behalf to restore today’s election.
Let’s vote!@Emilioformiami pic.twitter.com/2bYrxVaezJ
– Emilio T. González, Ph.D. (@emiliotgonzalez) November 4, 2025
Another large U.S. city holding municipal elections is Miami.
There 13 candidates are vying to succeed the mayor, Francis Suarez, who is very close to Trump and who cannot run for re-election for a third consecutive term in next Tuesday’s election.
Among the challengers are former Miami mayors Xavier Suarez, father of the current alderman, and Joe Carollo.
However, it is Cuban-American Emilio Gonzales, who has received the public support of Florida’s governor, Republican Ron DeSantis.
The housing crisis is one of the hottest issues of the key elections on November 4, due to the strong demand and population growth that Miami has experienced in recent years, coupled with the influx of foreign and luxury real estate investment, which has caused prices to rise.
New Jersey and Virginia, the Democrats’ oxygen ball
New – The chances of a Republican upset in New Jersey are dropping as the Democrats put up a massive offense. pic.twitter.com/xhMJlnvc5c
– Political Polls (@PpollingNumbers) November 4, 2025
The Democratic Party has focused its efforts on the governor’s race in New Jersey and Virginia as a sort of first push to make up ground after Kamala Harris’ defeat last year and ahead of next year’s congressional elections.
In the case of New Jersey, Democratic candidate Mickie Sherrill is narrowly ahead of Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelli.
The difference is within the polls’ margin of error and could end Democratic control of the state and serve as a thermometer of Trump’s popularity, which has thrown its support behind Ciattarelli, in a state that the Republican claims is increasingly Trumpist.
However, Virginia’s Democratic gubernatorial candidate, Abigail Spanberger, holds a clear lead over the Republican, Winsome Earle-Sears, according to several polls in a state traditionally considered a swing state.
Trump said Monday that voting for Democratic candidates in Virginia and New Jersey would be opting for “transgenderism for all,” more crime and the “most expensive energy prices” and that by contrast his brand of politics means lower taxes, increased security and cheap gas.
A victory for Spanberger, who said at the campaign closing that Wednesday would be the beginning of “flipping a lot of seats,” would end four years of Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration.
Democratic female candidates have focused much of their campaigns on condemning Trump’s policies, and precisely because of this, from the outcome of both elections party leaders will be able to draw conclusions as they prepare for the political fight at the national level.
California’s electoral map
What is Proposition 50 about?
It deals with who draws the maps of U.S. congressional districts in California for years to come.
Currently: an independent commission draws the maps every 10 years.
Proposition 50 would allow state legislators… pic.twitter.com/jPr3W9JkoJ– Building Skills Partnership (@Building_Skills) November 4, 2025
In the state of California, one of the most decisive votes of the day will be held.
Its citizens must decide whether to endorse congressional redistricting to give more seats to Democrats heading into next year’s House and Senate elections.
Proposition 50, as they have dubbed it, seeks a temporary redistricting of electoral maps to tip the balance in favor of the Democratic Party in five seats that would otherwise be held by Republicans in this state.
This measure, which is expected to pass, is a clear response to the Trump-led effort in Texas to retain the Republican majority with a maneuver similar to the one proposed here.
Filed under: Key Elections November 4
With information from EFE
