Toplines: We Won – and Built Momentum Toward 2026!
In the November 2025 elections, across over a dozen states and nearly one hundred races, MVP partners helped win key races up and down the ballot.
- In California, partners helped pass Prop 50, pushing back against Trump’s partisan gerrymandering and potentially gaining Dems up to five seats in the U.S. House.
- In New York City, partners helped elect affordability champion Zohran Mamdani as Mayor, providing a bold, pragmatic blueprint we can replicate and tailor appropriately to different communities in 2026.
- In Virginia, partners helped flip the governorship and hold the House of Delegates, solidifying Democratic governing power and setting the stage for winning more U.S. House seats next year.
- In Pennsylvania, partners used relational organizing and new-media tactics to help retain three Democratic seats on the state Supreme Court, protecting rights and election integrity from MAGA attacks.
- In New Jersey and Georgia, partners helped win statewide races that will have an immediate impact on people’s lives - and motivate turnout in 2026.
- In North Carolina, partners recruited and trained candidates who won key municipal races around the state, building momentum for state and federal wins to come.
- In Maine, partners helped defeat a voter-suppression ballot initiative and pass a gun-safety measure, while laying the groundwork to flip the GOP-held U.S. Senate seat in 2026.
Beating Back Autocracy and Turning Our Country Around
Every election is an opportunity — to engage voters, to build bases of active and galvanized volunteers and leaders, and to seed new, bold ideas for the future.
Our partners’ work this year is a central part of our strategy to win in 2026, pull back from authoritarianism, and build toward an era in which we can actually make life better for millions of people.
- Beating Back Autocracy: Winning Prop 50 in California, the state Supreme Court retention election in Pennsylvania, and the governorship in Virginia means it will be harder for Trump to strong-arm his way into our democracy and our rights. With these victories, we are shifting from merely playing defense to proactively going on offense.
- Pushing for Policy Progress: Down-ballot victories like winning full Democratic control in Virginia, winning the mayoral race in New York City, and winning Public Service Commissioner seats in Georgia this year will open the door for Democrats to pass bolder policies that will make a tangible difference in millions of lives, while increasing our ability to win in 2026 and 2028.
- Winning Electoral Power: Our California and Virginia wins will directly help us flip the U.S. House in 2026. Our Pennsylvania partners’ Neighborhood Captains Program that helped secure state Supreme Court victories prove that we can build electoral power by engaging and expanding our base, which will lead to more electoral wins in the future. Zohran Mamdani’s victory in the New York City mayoral race shows that we can push for bold, pragmatic policies that directly address working people’s concerns — and that when we organize to support candidates who champion those policies, we can win.
What Just Happened? Elections Results
From mayoral and city council races in small towns and big cities to statewide elections and ballot initiatives that may be bellwethers for 2026, MVP partners helped Democrats overperform across the board by reaching key voters who would have otherwise been overlooked.
California and New York City - The Highest-Profile Elections of 2025
Photo: California Working Families Party hosts an event in Orange County in support of Prop 50
In California, voters passed Prop 50, forcefully standing up against Trump’s attempts at partisan gerrymandering for Republican gain. The state can now temporarily implement new electoral maps that could gain Dems as many as five seats in the U.S. House next year.
Supported by MVP’s partner, the California Donor Table and its affiliate, Progressive Era Issues Committee, our partners on the ground led a massive effort to canvass infrequent Democrats and unaffiliated voters of color to vote yes on Prop 50 — with a targeted focus on current and future competitive House districts.
With their strategic ground game, our local partners Inland Empire United, UNITE HERE / Workers Vote PAC, Chispa, and California Working Families Party proved that protecting our democracy and fighting back against Trump can be a winning message with voters who might have otherwise sat out this election.
Read more about our California partners’ work to win here.
Photo: Jews for Economic and Racial Justice rally in support of NYC Mayoral candidate, Zohran Mamdani
In New York City, Zohran Mamdani is the new Mayor-Elect, and his affordability agenda — combined with enthusiastic backing from independent political and community organizations — offers Democrats a blueprint for winning back working-class and young voters.
Zohran Mamdani ran on a bold, pragmatic, and populist agenda focused on affordability and meeting the needs of working New Yorkers. Our NYC partners helped propel him to a major victory in the Democratic primary in June, and their relentless work over the past five months paid off again. MVP partners Jews For Racial & Economic Justice, New York Working Families Party, and Make the Road Action ran coordinated campaigns focused on and supported by intentional base building and embracing community organizing.
They purposefully worked with advocacy organizations and community groups to bring their constituencies into the electoral process. By engaging New Yorkers that already felt a sense of belonging with these organizations, our partners were able move them towards believing in the civic process — an important shift for many voters who had otherwise lost trust in government and politics.
With Mamdani as Mayor, New York City will be an even more significant bulwark against authoritarianism. Mamdani has been unflinching in his commitment to “Trump-proofing NYC,” and his victory will help embolden Democrats to run on a stronger, more inspiring affordability platform and vision for the future. This sort of campaign — along with the surge of grassroots organizing that helped bring about its success — offers a winning combination for 2026.
While NYC is not the rest of the country, and what worked there won’t necessarily play elsewhere. Dems can tailor and adapt strategies and tactics — including messaging, voter engagement, and a bold policy platform — to important, must-win geographies in 2026. Using consistent messaging on everyday issues voters care about, literally meeting people where they are, and running on a visionary yet pragmatic policy platform can galvanize a cross-class, multiracial voter base that includes working-class and young voters Dems lost in 2024.
Now, are partners are turning their attention to supporting Mayor-Elect Mamdani to implement his platform, and gearing up to defend NYC against what is sure to be massive retaliation from Trump and the federal government.
Virginia - Full Democratic Control
Photo: CASA in Action canvassing for Democrats
In Virginia, MVP partners helped flip the governor’s seat by electing the Democrat, Abigail Spanberger, and helped increase Democrats’ margin of power in the Virginia House of Delegates, picking up 13 seats, with one race still undecided.
Thanks to these wins — and thanks to our partners’ work in 2023 to defend the Democratic majority in the State Senate — we now have a governing trifecta that can help stave off Trump’s attacks and move a policy agenda that can deliver real progress. Additionally, MVP partners helped Democrats win two more statewide races — Ghazala Hashmi for Lieutenant Governor, the first Indian elected to statewide office in Virginia and the first Muslim woman in statewide office anywhere in the U.S., and Jay Jones for Attorney General, a far-from-perfect candidate who, nevertheless, will be essential in defending against legal attacks by the GOP and the Trump Administration.
MVP’s largest base-building and field partners — New Virginia Majority, CASA in Action, and UNITE HERE Virginia — ran coordinated, expanded field campaigns focusing on priority geographic areas; for example, in Northern Virginia to turn out reliably blue voters and Central Virginia and Hampton Roads to engage and mobilize working-class voters of color. The statewide, grassroots coalition knocked nearly 1 million doors, surpassing the total number of doors knocked in their 2021 campaign.
Beyond all the positive statewide implications, these wins could also help Democrats flip the U.S. House in 2026, now that Virginia has launched a mid-decade redistricting push that can only succeed with the support of a Democratically controlled legislature.
You can read more about our Virginia partners’ 2025 successes and how their victories will help us win the redistricting fight in Virginia and flip the U.S. House in 2026 here.
Photo: One Pennsylvania at No Kings rally urging voters to vote yes in state Supreme Court retention elections
Pennsylvania - Retaining a Democratic Majority on the State Supreme Court
Our partners in Pennsylvania mobilized voters across the state to retain three Democratic seats on the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. This victory is crucial for protecting voting rights in 2026, 2028, and beyond, safeguarding abortion access through a state constitutional amendment, ensuring fair redistricting, and much more.
MVP partner, Pennsylvania Working Families Party, anchored a coalition of 17 local- and state-based organizations, most of whom are MVP partners, to lead a multipronged effort to defeat a Republican campaign backed by conservative billionaire, Jeffrey Yass.
Focusing on trusted messengers and relational, deep canvassing, our Pennsylvania partners implemented a Neighborhood Captains Program that helped galvanize voters this year and will have lasting impacts into 2026 and 2028. Collectively, MVP partners recruited and trained more than 1,100 Neighborhood Captains across 18 counties to knock more than 175,000 doors, speaking to over 35,000 Pennsylvania voters to mobilize them to the polls.
Our Pennsylvania partners didn’t stop at traditional on-the-ground organizing. They also flooded the digital airwaves as part of a strategic communications campaign that demonstrates our partners’ increasing sophistication in new-media work. Applying old-school organizing tactics to new-media strategies, they developed and convened their first-ever Pennsylvania Creator Cohort to organize the internet and reach voters online, where they are increasingly getting their news, information, and entertainment.
You can read more about Pennsylvania partners’ successful and innovative program in our Pennsylvania deep dive here.
In addition to Working Families Party, MVP Pennsylvania partners include: One Pennsylvania, Asian Pacific Islander Political Alliance, Make The Road Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania United, Pennsylvania Stands Up, Action Together NEPA, Philly Neighborhood Networks, 215 PA, Free The Ballot, Reclaim PA, Straight Ahead, and other on-the-ground organizations.
New Jersey, Georgia, North Carolina, Maine - More Victories!
In New Jersey, MVP partners Make the Road Action New Jersey and Center for Community Change Action helped elect Democrat Mikie Sherrill as their next governor, defeating a Trump-backed opponent and retaining the Dems’ trifecta in the state.
This victory comes amid potential attempts to intimidate voters in one electorally crucial county — the latest reminder of just how far the GOP and Trump-installed federal officials will go to retain power. Only eleven days before Election Day at the request of local GOP leaders, the U.S. Department of Justice announced they would install election monitors in Passaic County — a heavily Latine county that flipped for Trump in 2024 — providing no justification for the deployment. As part of their statewide field program, MVP partner, Make the Road Action New Jersey, was already mobilizing voters in Passaic County, and immediately contacted the office of Democratic Attorney General, Matthew Platkin, to ensure open lines of communication to report any voter intimidation by DOJ monitors.
This is just one example of how the federal government under Donald Trump attempts to interfere in state-run processes, including elections. State and local governments are the first line of defense against Trump power grabs, and we need Democratic governors and other statewide office-holders to make that happen. Just as states like Illinois, Oregon, and California have mounted effective legal and political opposition to the deployment of the National Guard, the election of Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey — and the solidified Democratic trifecta this brings — will strengthen our state-level protections in the face of these continued attacks.
Photo: Georgia Youth Justice Coalition - Leaders from their Mercer University chapter
In Georgia, an array of partners helped elect two Democrats to the statewide Public Service Commission (PSC) — little-known but important elected positions that regulate the state’s utilities, specifically soaring rates set by Georgia Power, the state’s public electricity company. Democrats Peter Hubbard and Dr. Alicia Johnson ran on platforms of affordability, equity, and environmental justice. Their victories mean Georgians will likely be able to better afford their utilities, conserve energy in their homes and businesses, and take care of themselves and their families.
MVP’s Georgia partners, Georgia Conservation Voters, Georgia Youth Justice Coalition for Action, Georgia Working Working Families Party, Black Voters Matter Fund, CASA in Action, Georgia Equality, Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights Action Fund, and Asian American Advocacy Fund ran full-scale digital, mail, voter outreach, and public education campaigns to inform voters about the PSC races and turn voters out for Hubbard and Johnson.
This election gave an opportunity for Georgia voters to see the power they have to make decisions that directly affect their lives. Understanding that they can help lower their utility rates just by voting is an important step for voters — especially voters of color — to realize their power and feel motivated to show up to the polls again. This election helps set the stage for Dems to win back the U.S. Senate with Georgia voters now more likely to vote next year in the must-win race to re-elect Democratic Senator, Jon Ossoff.
Photo: Down Home North Carolina members and graduates of their first-ever Candidate Academy
In North Carolina, MVP partners helped win a slew of municipal races that will enable these newly elected leaders to tangibly protect and defend their communities at the hyper-local level. MVP partner Down Home North Carolina graduated its first-ever candidate academy class in September, recruiting, training, and developing seventeen candidates to be best prepared to run, win, and govern boldly. Thirteen Down Home Academy graduates ran in local races in the general election with seven of them winning their races.
The Down Home Candidate Academy is building a bench of multiracial, working-class candidates who are ready to run and champion bold, popular policy agendas once elected. These victories at the local level will help shape and embolden the state Democratic Party from the ground up and bolster momentum for electoral gains in 2026 — including winning an open U.S. Senate seat —- and preparing for 2028.
MVP partner North Carolina Asian Americans Together in Action endorsed six candidates running in crucial mayoral, city council, and school board races, and conducted outreach to voters via phones, doors, mail, and digital ads. NCAATIA focused on competitive races where their strong base would have an impact and on areas like Fayetteville and Charlotte where their base is still growing, deepening their membership and organizing power for 2026 and beyond.
MVP partner People’s Alliance PAC endorsed municipal candidates in Durham, helping propel them to victory through a combination of organizing, events, mailings, social media, canvassing and poll work.
In Maine, our partners Maine Votes, Maine People's Alliance, Community Organizing Alliance (COA), Maine Youth Power (MYP), and Food AND Medicine helped defeat a voter-suppression ballot initiative that would have enacted strict voter ID requirements and dramatically restricted absentee voting. MVP’s financial and capacity-building support allowed these groups to run a successful, geographically coordinated get-out-the-vote operation.
COA and MYP also worked to pass a “red flag” ballot measure that will increase gun safety practices in the state. They held educational events, community gatherings, and direct voter outreach, coordinating their efforts to target key geographies with strategic and complementary messaging. Our Maine partners’ collaboration this year laid the groundwork for important coalition-building efforts in the 2026 U.S. Senate race in Maine to unseat GOP incumbent Susan Collins.
Honorable Mentions - AZ, MN, MT, NM
Arizona - Arizona voters elected Selina Barajas and Miranda Schubert — Democrats who will fight for immigrants and their families — to the Tucson City Council. Tucson is the last major city before the southern border with Mexico, and having city council members who will hold the line on immigration and other border-related issues will protect communities, advance bold policies, and set a standard for other cities to follow.
Note: On September 23rd, during a special election, MVP partners helped secure the Congressional District 7 seat for Adelita Grijalva (D). Partners are now continuing to advocate for her swearing-in, which remains infamously delayed.
As of this writing, we are still waiting on final results in mayoral and municipal races in Minnesota, Montana, and New Mexico.
Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop - Building Now for 2026 and 2028
We say it all the time at MVP: there are no “off” years, only “odd” years.
In fact, it’s our work together with you — our donors and partners — in the odd years that makes our successes in the “even” years possible.
From a Democratic trifecta in Virginia to countering Trump’s attempts at partisan gerrymandering to electing local leaders in New York City, Georgia, and New Jersey who will fight for working people, the 2025 elections have proven that we can build movements for progress and win.
MVP partners across the country won major races that will help us mount a powerful defense and offense against rising authoritarianism from the Trump Administration and pave the road for major victories in the future — including regaining control of the U.S. House (and possibly Senate?!) in 2026 and preparing to win back the White House in 2028.
Thanks to crucial “odd-year” funding, our partners engaged and turned out tens of thousands of voters in races up and down the ballot. They pounded the pavement. They flooded social media feeds. They reached the voters who would have otherwise been missed. And they expanded their bases of support in ways that will carry on long past Election Day.
This year’s innovative and strategic work gives our partners winning models we can replicate, adapt, and scale next year, emboldening Democrats to run on visionary platforms and reinvigorating, expanding, and broadening our base to be the big tent we need.
Let’s keep the momentum going!
The time right after an election is often the hardest for our partners. Funders stop paying attention, candidate campaigns end, and the party packs up and leaves. That’s why support from MVP donors makes such a difference.
During what has been a nightmarish year in many ways, our partners’ successes and the 2025 election results provide a much-needed bright spot to keep us turning towards hope and optimism over fear and inaction, which is exactly what we need if we are going to win in 2026.
Next year, we have big plans to:
- Beat back authoritarianism by fueling civil resistance, peeling off support for the Trump regime from all pillars of society, and countering GOP election rigging everywhere we possibly can.
- Flip the U.S. House back to Democratic control – and take a run at flipping the Senate while we're at it.
- Win the media war by organizing the internet.
- Embolden Democrats to push for bold, popular policy agendas that will win real progress.
If you’d like to help us sustain and expand our victories next year, we invite you to make a plan to give again (or for the first time!) - here’s how:
There’s a lot of work ahead, but we are one hundred percent up for it. We know what we have to do, and we know we can win.
With much gratitude and unending hope in what we can accomplish,
Annie Lipsitz, MVP Donor Communications Manager
