Voters are heading to the polls Tuesday to weigh in on critical races electing governors, mayors and more as observers look for clues about the national mood heading into next year’s midterms.

New Jersey and Virginia are holding high-stakes elections for governor, among other top posts. In New York City, Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani is running against former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) and Republican Curtis Sliwa to succeed outgoing Mayor Eric Adams (D).

California voters, meanwhile, will weigh in on a new set of congressional maps pushed by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D).

Here are the key races to watch in Tuesday’s critical 2025 elections:

Virginia

The Old Dominion is holding elections for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and the House of Delegates.

Former Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) is running against Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears (R) since Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) is term-limited. Polling has shown Spanberger with a comfortable lead over Earle-Sears, with a Decision Desk HQ polling average of the race showing the Democrat ahead at 53 percent to Earle-Sears's 43 percent.

But the GOP Virginia lieutenant governor and her party have sought to tie Spanberger to a scandal that has swirled around Jay Jones, the Democratic challenger to Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares (R), in the final stretch of the race.

Jones has faced blowback over resurfaced text messages from 2022 in which he talked about shooting former Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert (R) and suggested Gilbert and his wife were “breeding little fascists.”

Jones has since apologized for the text messages. He’s also looked to nationalize the race, tying Miyares to President Trump. A Decision HQ polling average of the race shows Miyares just ahead of Jones, 47 percent to 45 percent.

Controversy has also rocked Republicans in Virginia lieutenant governor’s race.

Republican John Reid refused to end his candidacy earlier this year when Republicans found a social media account that has been linked to Reid shared sexually explicit content of men. Reid, who is gay, has said the account isn’t his and that he’s being discriminated against due to his sexuality. Reid is running against Democrat Ghazala Hashmi in a race

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