3 Democrats, 1 Unforgettable Election Day! Zohran Mamdani, Mary Sheffield & Abigail Spanberger Secure Historic Wins

Mary Sheffield, 38, was first elected to the City Council in 2013 at age 26. She has been council president since 2022. She and Rev. Solomon Kinloch, both Democrats, advanced to Tuesday’s election after finishing with the most votes in the city’s nonpartisan August primary.

Sheffield has said that focusing on educating Detroit’s children, and continuing to improve public safety and life in the neighborhoods will be among her priorities as mayor. At a September campaign event, she said: “My commitment, Detroit, is to build on the foundation that has been laid working with Mayor Duggan and our council … by expanding opportunities, strengthening our neighborhoods and making sure that Detroit’s progress reaches every block and every family of this city.”

Sheffield will take over after three-term mayor Mike Duggan exits. Duggan announced last year that he wasn’t running again. He was elected in 2013 and took office in January 2014. Under his watch, Detroit has dramatically improved city services, including shorter police response times, public lighting and blight elimination. Now, he’s aiming for the Michigan governor seat, running as an independent. Duggan previously endorsed Sheffield.

That said, Mary Sheffield will inherit a city that continues to improve after Detroit’s 2014 exit from the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history. 12 years of balanced budgets. Historically low violent crime numbers. A population that grew and continues to after decades of losses. After her win, Duggan publicly showed his support–as he also did during her campaign.

“Our city’s progress is in very good hands and I know she and her team will make sure it not only continues, but expands,” Duggan said in a statement following her victory.

Democrat Abigail Spanberger won the Virginia governor’s race Tuesday, defeating Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears. The win gives Democrats a key victory heading into the 2026 midterm elections. Additionally, Spanberger made history as the first woman ever to lead the commonwealth!

“We sent a message to every corner of the commonwealth, a message to our neighbors and our fellow Americans across the country,” Spanberger told supporters Tuesday night in Richmond. “We sent a message to the whole word that in 2025, Virginia chose pragmatism over partisanship. We chose our commonwealth over chaos.”

Spanberger was a former congresswoman and CIA case officer. She won by emphasizing economic issues. While campaigning, Spanberger often sidestepped the historic potential of her candidacy. In victory, she embraced it.

“Just a few minutes ago, Adam said to our daughters, your mom’s going to be the governor of Virginia. And I can guarantee those words have never been spoken in Virginia ever before,” she said. “It’s a big deal,” she added, “that the girls and the young women I have met along the campaign trail now know with certainty that they can achieve anything.”

Abigail Spanberger’s eyes welled up as she told her family she loved them. Her husband and three daughters, standing behind her, wiped tears from their cheeks.

And she won’t be the only Democrat leading the commonwealth after Tuesday’s election. Democrat Ghazala F. Hashmi won the lieutenant governor’s race and will succeed Earle-Sears. Hashmi is the first Muslim woman to win a statewide office in the U.S.

Also in a night of firsts, Democratic challenger Jay Jones defeated Republican Jason Miyares to become the state’s first Black attorney general and complete a Democratic sweep of the commonwealth’s statewide posts. His win comes as a slight shock, given his recent apology after news reports revealed texts from 2022 in which Jones suggested the former Republican House Speaker needed “two bullets to the head.” Despite external pressure to drop out, he did not.

Another cherry on top for Democrats? The party also retained control of the state legislature.

Associated Press writers Steve Peoples, Will Weissert, Anthony Izaguirre, Jill Colvin, Jennifer Peltz, Philip Marcelo, Jake Offenhartz, Corey Williams, Olivia Diaz, Bill Barrow, and Helen Wieffering contributed to this report via AP Newsroom.