How the economy turned from red to blue, according to exit polls

2:45New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani speaks during a campaign party at the Brooklyn Paramount Theater in Brooklyn, New York, November 4, 2025. Angelina Katsanis/AFP via Getty Images

A Navy veteran, former congressman and self-proclaimed democratic socialist scored resounding victories Tuesday in high-profile races — all of them carrying the Democratic banner and each addressing widespread concerns about affordability.

Despite various biographies, according to exit polls by ABC News showed top Democrats in New Jersey, Virginia and New York leading the race among voters who thought the economy or cost of living was a top issue.

The landslide lead among Democratic candidates marked a sharp turnaround from the presidential election a year ago, when widespread discontent over inflation fueled President Donald Trump and Republican control of Congress.

Meanwhile, more than half of New York voters said the cost of living is the most important issue facing the city, eclipsing other issues measured in an ABC News exit poll, and about two-thirds of those voters voted for Democrat Zohran Mamdani.

Taxes and the economy are seen as the top two issues for voters in New Jersey, and similar shares of tax-oriented voters supported Republican Jack Ciatarelli, while economy-oriented voters supported Democrat Mickey Sherrill, an ABC News release showed.

While each candidate has different proposals to reduce spending — Mamdani has voted most to raise the tax rate on the wealthiest to pay for services such as child care — huge numbers of voters have been drawn to his message.

A person makes purchases in a grocery store, Oct. 31, 2025, Nashville, Tennessee. George Walker IV/AP

Speaking on ABC News’ “Good Morning America” ​​Wednesday, Mamdani said he sees his election victory as a “mandate” to pursue the “most ambitious” affordability program for New Yorkers in decades.

He described the first steps to fund the program as a push to raise taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers — along with raising corporate taxes to 11.5 percent from the current level of about 7.25 percent.

“These things together raise about $9 billion,” Mamdani, a 34-year-old state assemblyman who considers himself a democratic socialist, told ABC News, noting that such revenues “more than pay for the economic program and also begin to protect our city from Trump.” “>Tuesday’s results stand in stark contrast to the results of the national election a year ago this November, when Trump swept all seven states en route to a decisive election victory over Democratic candidate Kamala Harris.

At the time, about two-thirds of voters said the economy was in bad shape, according to an ABC News exit poll. Forty-seven percent of voters said their own financial situation is worse than it was four years ago, surpassing the share of those who felt that way immediately after the Great Recession in 2008.

Inflation and the economy consistently ranked as voters’ top concerns in polls conducted in the run-up to last year’s presidential election.

Price growth slowed earlier this year, but has picked up in recent months, reaching the same level it registered in January when Trump took office. Meanwhile, hiring has slowed in recent months, creating the risk of an economic double whammy known as “stagflation.”

In a post on X on Wednesday, Vice President J.D. Vance played down the importance of the election a day earlier, but he also acknowledged the importance of voters’ financial concerns.

“I think it’s idiotic to overreact to a few elections in blue states,”

He added: “The president has done a lot that has already paid off with lower interest rates and inflation, but we inherited a disaster from Joe Biden and Rome wasn’t built in a day.”

“We’re going to continue to work to make a decent life affordable in this country, and that’s the metric that will ultimately be measured by 2026 and beyond,” Vance said.

ABC News’ Ivan Pereira and David Brennan contributed to this report.

Source: abcnews.go.com