One thing was clear — it was a big night for Democrats.

Up and down the ballot, Democrats did well. That was true whether it was the marquee governors' races in Virginia and New Jersey, where Democrats significantly outperformed 2024 presidential election margins, or even less-closely-watched races like the Virginia House of Delegates, the state supreme court in Pennsylvania and even Georgia Public Service Commission.

And the outcomes very well may have consequences in the near term, for things like the federal government shutdown, in the medium term for the 2026 midterm elections and in the longer term for 2028.

Here are five takeaways from the 2025 off-year elections:

1. It's still the cost of living, stupid.

The old political axiom, coined by former Bill Clinton adviser James Car

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