There were off season elections yesterday in New Jersey, Virginia, New York City, and a few other less consequential places. All these jurisdictions lean Democrat and all were won by Democrats, no surprises there. If there were any bright spots for Republicans no one has yet reported them.
Tomorrow will bring thumb-sucker essays where pundits try to tease some larger meaning from these meager results. It isn't clear any such omens and portents should be inferred.
Would you draw national conclusions from a Republican winning in TX of FL? Probably not, so why get excited about Democrats winning where they usually win? Answer: you shouldn't.
The Mamdani win in NYC is a first, of sorts. However people with good sense choose not to live in big cities so big cities electing people who seem to likely to make things worse is maybe what we should expect.
My cynical take is this: NYC and Mamdani deserve each other.
