The 2021 elections have produced mixed results across the nation as President Joe Biden's Democratic Party faced its first major electoral tests following victories in November, 2020 and January, 2021.
While Democrats won two major races in New York, Republicans scored an upset victory in the Virginia governor's race, despite Biden's 10-point win in the state last year.
The gubernatorial race in New Jersey appeared to be a dead heat on Wednesday morning, while two open seats in the House of Representatives for Ohio were filed overnight.
Here's a roundup of the state of the major races.
Republican Victory in Virginia
Republican candidate Glenn Youngkin will be Virginia's next governor following his victory in a the hotly contested gubernatorial election.
The race was tight with polls showing Youngkin and his Democratic opponent Terry McAuliffe within striking distance of each other. However, Youngkin ultimately won 51 percent of the vote when the race was called by multiple networks on Wednesday.
Youngkin's victory will be seen as a defeat for the Democratic Party, as well as for President Biden, as the election was widely viewed as a test for the Democrats in a state the president won by a 10-point margin in 2020.
Biden campaigned for McAuliffe in person, while former President Donald Trump endorsed Youngkin but did not travel to Virginia to campaign. Youngkin largely kept his distance from Trump in an election where critical race theory in schools took center stage.
Dead Heat in New Jersey
The governor's race in New Jersey was too close to call on Wednesday despite polling indicating that Democratic Governor Phil Murphy would win reelection by a relatively healthy margin.
Murphy and his Republican opponent Jack Ciattarelli have called for patience as votes continue to be counted. With 88 percent of the vote in, Ciattarelli was leading Murphy by 49.65 percent to 49.6 percent on Wednesday morning.
If Murphy wins, he will become the first Democrat reelected governor in New Jersey in 44 years. A victory for Ciattarelli would be another blow to Democrats following their defeat in Virginia.
Adams Wins in New York City
Things were looking brighter for the Democrats in New York City on Wednesday where Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams sailed to victory in the mayoral race.
The Associated Press (AP) called the race for Adams at 9.20pm on Tuesday. With more than 78 percent of precincts reporting on Wednesday morning, Adams had won 66.5 percent of the vote and defeated his Republican opponent Curtis Sliwa, who had won 28.8 percent.
Victory for Adams was widely expected. Sliwa, founder of the unarmed crime prevention group the Guardian Angels, was seen as a longshot. Adams will become the second Black person to serve as mayor of New York City.
Manhattan Elects First Black DA
While Eric Adams will be New York City's second Black mayor, Manhattan has elected its first Black district attorney (DA).
Democrat Alvin Bragg defeated Republican Thomas Kenniff to succeed high profile DA Cyrus Vance, a Democrat who has been investigating former President Trump and his business dealings. Bragg will oversee ongoing investigations into the former president.
With 73.5 percent of precincts reporting, Bragg had won 83.3 percent of the vote to Kenniff's 16.7 percent. Bragg was widely expected to win in the heavily Democratic borough.
Minneapolis Will Keep Police Department
The city of Minneapolis has rejected a measure that sought to replace the police department with a Department of Public Safety.
The proposal would have removed language from the city charter about a police department with minimum levels of funding and staffing.
The people of Minneapolis rejected the plan by a vote of 56 percent with 96 percent of precincts reporting at 10pm E.T. on Tuesday.
The decision comes despite calls for police reform following the death of George Floyd in the city and may be seen as a blow to those who have campaigned to defund the police.
Democrats and Republicans Win in Ohio
Voters in Ohio filled two vacant seats in the House of Representatives in special elections on Tuesday and handed wins to both the Democratic and Republican parties.
Trump-backed Republican Mike Carey was elected to Ohio's 15th congressional district, defeating Democratic State Representative Allison Russo.
He will succeed Republican Steve Stivers, who resigned from Congress in April to serve as CEO of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce.
Carey won 58.3 percent of the vote to Russo's 41.7 percent.
In a separate special election in Ohio's 11th congressional district, Democrat Shontel Brown triumphed over Republican Laverne Gore. Brown is succeeding Democrat Marcia Fudge, who resigned from Congress in March after being confirmed as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in Biden's cabinet.
Brown won 78.8 percent of the vote to Gore's 21.2 percent. Both Brown and Carey will have to face reelection in 2022 if they wish to retain their seats.
