With a week since the off-year gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia, a clear dynamic is emerging: President Donald Trump’s gains with nontraditional GOP voters — especially working-class Black and Hispanic voters and Gen Zers — are not translating into support for the Republican Party this year. 

If Republicans are unable to recreate the Trump 2024 coalition without Trump on the ballot, they will face serious political disadvantages for the midterms and beyond. 

The double-digit margins of victory of incoming Democratic governors Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey and Abigail Spanberger in Virginia speak volumes about the current political environment. Their sweeping wins underscore that, while Democrats may be divided as a result of ideological infighting, the antipathy towards Trump and the GOP is the glue that holds the party together. 

The historic tendency of voters taking out their dissatisfaction on the party in power is alive and well, and is much more of a factor than the favorability ratings of the political parties.

The most revealing outcome from the gubernatorial elections is the fact that the majority-making elements of Trump’s coalition swung decisively back to the Democrats, according to the AP/Fox News voter analysis. In New Jersey, young men between 18-29 backed Sherrill by 14 points (57-43%) after narrowly supporting Trump in last year’s presidential election. In Virginia, Spanberger won 58% of young men, a huge margin for a demographic that had assumed to be trending away from the Democratic Party.

The Democratic Party’s comeback with Hispanic voters is equally as significant. Because of continuing inflation and backlash to the Trump administration’s aggressive deportation of illegal immigrants and ICE tactics, Hispanic voters once again voted like reliable elements of the Democratic coalition. In New Jersey, over two-thirds (68%) of Hispanic voters backed Sherrill —12 points more than Kamala Harris’ support with Hispanics in the state in 2024. In Virginia, Spanberger’s 67% support with Hispanics was eight points ahead of Harris’ vote share with the key constituency.

Meanwhile, Black voters overwhelmingly sided with the Democratic nominees this year, after a notable minority of them backed Trump in last year’s presidential election. Spanberger won 93% of the Black vote, seven points more than Harris, even though she was running against a Black opponent in Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears. Sherrill won 94% of the Black vote in New Jersey, a whopping 15 points more than Harris carried in 2024.

There are a number of lessons from the gubernatorial results, even if they don’t neatly extrapolate into different states in future elections. 

First, the presence of pragmatic-minded Democrats with moderate voting records in Congress at the top of the ticket was a major selling point. In the 2024 presidential election, more voters viewed Harris as out of the ideological mainstream — a dynamic that was impossible to shake, given her long record of progressive posturing. That’s a clear lesson for Democrats to learn as they weigh their presidential nomination options for 2028.

Second, it’s evident that the GOP’s inroads with nonwhite working-class voters in 2024 was more of a short-term blip —mainly in response to former President Joe Biden’s handling of inflation — than any kind of lasting realignment. Republicans may come to regret their aggressive, partisan gerrymandering in Texas, given that it’s reliant on moderate-minded Hispanic voters in the state maintaining an affiliation with the Republican Party. That’s far from a sure thing.

Finally, it’s a reminder that the economy remains the dominant issue for voters — especially with these politically cross-pressured constituencies, which are generally less financially secure than their counterparts. One way to tamp down the so-called “culture wars” and rising extremism is by ensuring economic security and a broader safety net for less advantaged Americans. 

As polls show Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) with a narrow lead in the run-up to New Jersey’s gubernatorial election, less than two weeks away, the Democratic lawmaker has stepped up her efforts to court the state’s sizable Jewish community — whose support could make the difference in what is expected to be a close race.

In recent weeks, Sherrill has previewed a plan of action to counter antisemitism in a webinar led by Jewish Democrats, joined calls for the state’s largest teachers’ union to fire an editor of its magazine over antisemitic and pro-Hamas social media comments and met with Orthodox Jewish leaders in Lakewood who represent an influential voting bloc. 

The moderate congresswoman, who has held a northern New Jersey House seat since 2019, has condemned her Republican rival, Jack Ciattarelli, for appearing onstage at an event last weekend just after a Muslim affairs advisor had said he was “not taking money from Jews,” a remark Sherrill called “blatant antisemitism” from her opponent’s “inner circle.”

In addition to attending a Jewish event with Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) late last month in Bergen County, Sherrill is also expected to join Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and other Democratic leaders for a fundraiser on Saturday hosted at the home of Shawn Klein, the Jewish deputy mayor of Livingston, in northeastern New Jersey.

The increased engagement and attention to Jewish issues comes as Sherrill finds herself in a tightening race against Ciattarelli, who came close to unseating term-limited Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy in 2021 and was trailing by just five points in a poll released Thursday. The state’s significant Jewish population could help tip the scales for either candidate — with Ciattarelli depending on particularly robust turnout from the Orthodox community.

Her engagement otherwise comes as she has faced lingering reservations from some Jewish leaders in the state who believe she embraced a more critical approach to Israel in the aftermath of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, including early calls for a pause in fighting in Gaza. 

And on a key piece of state legislation that would codify the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism, some Jewish leaders have voiced frustration with Sherrill’s evolving stance. While she previously endorsed the bill, Sherrill recently added caveats about free speech concerns to her position before offering more direct support, according to two Jewish leaders who have advocated for the legislation.

“I’m not sure she realized the depth of concern she has in the Jewish community,” one Jewish leader in the state, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to address a sensitive matter, told Jewish Insider on Thursday.

Sherrill has since registered feedback from Jewish activists and has “tightened up” her stance, according to the community leader. “Her statement on IHRA was rather weak and she now understands her response was seen as weak,” he said.

“This has always been an issue of concern in the race that maybe the Jewish community wasn’t going to be with her,” said another Jewish leader familiar with Sherrill’s campaign, pointing to a recent “uptick in outreach.”

In a statement to JI, Carly Jones, a spokesperson for Sherrill, said the congresswoman “has long been a friend to the Jewish community, and as governor, she will fight to lower costs, protect our kids, and combat antisemitism.”  

“Mikie will take real action to combat antisemitism by securing houses of worship, protect kids to ensure they’re safe at school and welcome on college campuses, ensure people can practice their religion with pride, appoint an attorney general who will protect communities against hate crimes, and strengthen the role of the Interfaith Advisory Council,” Jones added.

While Sherrill is not expected to perform well among Jewish voters in the conservative Orthodox enclave of Lakewood, which Ciattarelli has aggressively courted over several years, it was still regarded as a positive gesture that she chose to visit the community earlier this week to meet with local leaders, according to an Orthodox activist familiar with the matter who was granted anonymity to speak freely.

“I think she understands that this is a town that is just going to go overwhelmingly for her opponent,” the activist told JI, predicting the Lakewood Vaad, an influential coalition of local rabbis, is preparing to announce its endorsement of Ciattarelli over the weekend — even as the Republican candidate has refused to acknowledge that his Muslim relations advisor used antisemitic rhetoric.

The visit was initially set for early September, but Sherrill had been forced to reschedule because of a conflict on Capitol Hill.

During the meeting Thursday, marking her first visit to Lakewood in the general election, Sherrill toured the community, discussed local issues such as childcare and busing, and attended a fundraiser hosted by business leaders from across the state as well as locals hedging their bets as Sherrill remains favored in the election, according to the Orthodox activist.

Another Jewish leader familiar with Sherrill’s campaign said her team was “acutely aware that Lakewood would be a challenge due to” President Donald Trump’s “heavy engagement there in recent years.”

The congresswoman “has a very solid record on Israel and the Jewish community throughout her time in Congress, but I think the shift to the right by the Orthodox community has been a challenge for her,” the Jewish leader told JI.

Micah Rasmussen, director of Rider University’s Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics, said the Orthodox vote in Lakewood, which includes around 30,000 registered Republicans, could lend a helpful boost to Ciattarelli’s campaign — as Sherrill seeks to shore up broader Jewish community support across the state.

“In 2021, Jack Ciattarelli came out of Lakewood 5,000 votes ahead of Phil Murphy, but that was without the Vaad’s endorsement,” Rasmussen said. “Should he get the endorsement this time, he could triple his previous margin or potentially even more. That certainly isn’t enough to get him across the finish line all by itself, but it helps.”

Ibrar Nadeem, a Muslim affairs advisor to New Jersey gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli, bragged that he wasn’t taking money from Jews at a campaign event last weekend organized by a group called Muslims 4 Jack.

Ciattarelli, the Republican nominee, appeared alongside Nadeem on Saturday evening at the event, held in Piscataway, N.J, where he called Nadeem one of his closest advisors. At the event, Nadeem alleged some Muslims in his community had accused him of “taking money from Jews” to support Ciattarelli, which he pointedly denied. 

An invitation to the event, which described the gathering as a “community dinner honoring” the GOP gubernatorial hopeful, listed Nadeem’s official title as “executive director” of “New Jersey – Muslim relations.” 

“Every time I got tired, people from my community — when I was blamed that — somebody said ‘You are taking money from Jews.’ I said, ‘I check my bank account every day, brother, it is not there,’” Nadeem told the crowd, after also having made remarks against same-sex marriage.   

Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), the state’s Democratic nominee for governor, criticized Ciattarelli in a social media post on Monday for not condemning Nadeem’s comments at the event.

“This blatant antisemitism is coming from a member of Jack’s inner circle. Jack could have condemned it but instead sang his praises. Absolutely disgraceful,” Sherrill wrote. 

Reached for comment, a spokesperson for Ciattarelli’s campaign referred Jewish Insider to a post by Ciattarelli on X explaining Nadeem’s remarks and attacking Sherrill for her refusal to weigh in on the New York City mayoral race against Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani.

“Do you ever get tired of lying @MikieSherrill? You know I support same sex marriage,” Ciattarelli wrote on X on Monday night. “You also know the full clip of Dr. Nadeem’s remarks are clear: He was talking about the grief he gets from some BECAUSE of my unwavering support for the Jewish community and Israel and his own efforts to build bridges between Muslim and non-Muslim communities.”

Nadeem defended his support of Ciattarelli’s candidacy during his remarks on Saturday, arguing that an embrace of his campaign could ensure that the Muslim community could have “a seat at the table” if he were elected. 

“We want to have a seat at the table. We want to be in those rooms where decisions will be made. I do not necessarily mean me,” Nadeem explained, adding that he planned to collect resumes from some attendees in the room to recommend for positions in Ciattarelli’s potential administration. Nadeem also noted that he “wants to have a ban on same-sex marriage” in New Jersey. 

In remarks delivered shortly after Nadeem’s speech, Ciattarelli embraced the local Arab leader as a close confidante without condemning his comments about Jews.

“Dr. Ibrar Nadeem: Just once, I wish you would say what’s exactly on your mind,” Ciattarelli said, prompting laughter from the crowd. The gubernatorial nominee went on to call for a round of applause for Nadeem to thank him for his political engagement. 

“I am the first [Republican] gubernatorial candidate in history that has a Muslim as part of his inner circle of advisors, and that advisor is Dr. Ibrar Nadeem,” he later added. 

Ciattarelli then detailed how he and Nadeem, whom he described as a “very, very impressive man,” were first introduced in February. “He said to me, eight months ago, ‘I am going to help you be the next governor of New Jersey,’ and that man hasn’t let me down one day since that very day,” Ciattarelli said of Nadeem.

Ciattarelli posted about the event on Sunday, writing on Instagram alongside several photos that featured Nadeem that it was “great to be in Piscataway last night for a Meet & Greet with members of New Jersey’s thriving Muslim community. Our state is built on respect for all faiths and traditions, and I remain committed to being a Governor for every New Jerseyan — ensuring every voice is heard and every family feels welcome.”

Speaking on a Jewish Democratic Council of America webinar on Thursday, Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) outlined a plan of action on antisemitism she said she would implement statewide if she wins next month’s gubernatorial race in the Garden State.

Sherrill is running against Republican Jack Ciattarelli in a race that polls show is tightening ahead of Election Day on Nov. 4.

“We have seen a really terrible rise in antisemitism,” Sherrill said, emphasizing the need for everyone in the state to “double down that religious hatred is always unacceptable, that we are going to make sure that here in New Jersey, we can chart a path forward that protects all of our constitutional rights, including religious freedom and free speech. And we can do both, and we can be a really strong state that models that for the rest of the nation.”

Sherrill said she’s heard disturbing stories from constituents of antisemitic hate in schools and online, in addition to attacks on synagogues in the state, highlighting that she plans to implement a state plan of action on antisemitism, based on the Biden administration’s 2023 national antisemitism strategy.

She emphasized her willingness to call out antisemitism among her political allies, pointing to the example of an employee of the New Jersey Educational Association — which endorsed Sherrill — who had made “horrible antisemitic [comments] online.” Sherrill said she had condemned the individual and demanded she be fired.

“I’m going to call out anybody in this space that is promoting hate in any way against all of our citizens, but especially our children,” Sherrill said.

Addressing recent revelations of antisemitic messages in a Young Republican leadership group chat, Sherrill said, “I don’t think that should have been a surprise to anyone because we’ve seen it starting at the top with President [Donald] Trump and the antisemitism that he promotes, and I will continue to fight against that.”

Sherrill said her statewide plan will include mandating comprehensive reporting of hate crimes, directing the attorney general to “aggressively combat and prosecute antisemitism,” a “stronger interfaith advisory council” and holding state universities accountable.

The New Jersey congresswoman also expressed her joy and relief at the release of the remaining living hostages from Gaza this week. She said she is hopeful that the ceasefire deal leads to “real peace” and that the effort remains nonpartisan.

“I think we have to hope that this agreement holds, that Hamas is demilitarized, that humanitarian aid is surged into Gaza because the famine there is preventable and we’ve got to address that and then achieve a lasting peace in the region,” Sherrill said.

She added that she felt the region was on a path toward peace with the Abraham Accords before Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel, and can continue to pursue that path with rebuilding and a new government in Gaza, with Israel taking a leading role in strengthening the region economically and militarily.

One Jewish leader in New Jersey said that the community appears split in the gubernatorial race — committed Democrats are sticking with Sherrill but Ciattarelli has gained some steam among undecided Jewish voters.

The leader, speaking on condition of anonymity, said multiple people have told them they’re voting for Ciattarelli because of recent comments by Sherrill about state legislation codifying the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism. Sherrill previously said she supports the bill and would sign it, but has recently offered some caveats to that stance, according to the source.

Another local source familiar with the Jewish community said they expect the Orthodox Jewish population to support Ciattarelli by a wide margin.

Ever since President Donald Trump ran surprisingly close to Vice President Kamala Harris in New Jersey during last year’s presidential race, Republicans have been looking at the state’s gubernatorial race as a chance to capitalize on the party’s momentum in the blue state.

Jack Ciattarelli, the GOP’s nominee for governor, also came tantalizingly close to defeating Gov. Phil Murphy in the state’s last gubernatorial race. He’s running again, and hoping to get over the finish line against Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), in part by courting the state’s sizable Jewish community, which has swung to the right in recent elections.

“People now know, because of the closeness of my race, that we can win. There’s just an attitude change because they feel like the Democrats have really failed them on a number of issues, and antisemitism is one of them,” Ciattarelli told Jewish Insider in an interview ahead of his visit to Israel this week. 

Ciattarelli, 63, who built two medical publishing companies in New Jersey while serving as a state lawmaker, said, “I see myself not so much as a politician, but a successful CEO who is looking to be the CEO hands-on governor that we need.”

As part of his Jewish communal outreach, Ciattarelli traveled to Israel on Sunday for a five-day visit, which he organized in a show of solidarity. He also spent time on his visit pursuing opportunities for economic investment from leading Israeli companies in the technology and medical sectors. 

“Any students in violation of university policy, I think, should be expelled. Any student that’s broken the law should be arrested, and any student here on an academic visa from another country should be sent back to where they came from if they’re going to engage in that kind of behavior,” Ciattarelli said. “I will pressure our college and university presidents to be working in partnership with me to make sure that kind of behavior isn’t tolerated.”

He told JI that one of his goals with the visit was to boost the state’s economy “by forging a closer economic relationship with a number of nations” that are close U.S. allies. “Israel is first and foremost on the list, but as governor, I will certainly look to Canada, Mexico and India as well to increase our bilateral trade,” Ciattarelli said. 

Fighting antisemitism, Ciattarelli said, will be a priority of his if he’s elected. Ciattarelli said he has “made very, very clear” that he supports codifying the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism into state law, will “appoint an attorney general and a superintendent of state police that are both sensitive to the needs and worries of New Jersey’s Jewish community” and will establish an Advisory Council on Jewish Relations to guide him on ways to the best support the community. 

“Any students in violation of university policy, I think, should be expelled. Any student that’s broken the law should be arrested, and any student here on an academic visa from another country should be sent back to where they came from if they’re going to engage in that kind of behavior,” Ciattarelli said. “I will pressure our college and university presidents to be working in partnership with me to make sure that kind of behavior isn’t tolerated.”

Ciattarelli described the December 2023 House Education and Workforce Committee hearing, where the presidents of Harvard University, University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology declined to say that calling for the genocide of Jews qualified as bullying and harrassment, as a “watershed moment” that brought the issue of antisemitism to the forefront of Jewish voters’ minds. 

“I will do what others have done, including Democratic leaders, and that’s condemning Mamdani, condemning his candidacy, and doing all they can to make sure that a threat to communities such as this is not elected,” Ciattarelli told JI. “There is no space for someone like this in the public sphere, let alone in public office, and I’m going to do everything in my power to protect all 9.3 million citizens here in New Jersey, and particularly members of the Jewish community who feel threatened by a person such as this.”

“They want to see a governor who’s going to demonstrate zero tolerance for antisemitism and call it out for what it is when we see it and hear it,” Ciattarelli said of Jewish voters in the Garden State. 

The New Jersey Republican has also sought to tie Sherrill to Zohran Mamdani, the far-left Democratic nominee in New York City’s mayoral race who has resisted condemning “globalize the intifada” rhetoric. Ciattarelli’s campaign cut a digital ad highlighting Sherrill’s nationally televised indecision on whether she would support Mamdani’s mayoral campaign. 

“I will do what others have done, including Democratic leaders, and that’s condemning Mamdani, condemning his candidacy, and doing all they can to make sure that a threat to communities such as this is not elected,” Ciattarelli told JI. “There is no space for someone like this in the public sphere, let alone in public office, and I’m going to do everything in my power to protect all 9.3 million citizens here in New Jersey, and particularly members of the Jewish community who feel threatened by a person such as this.”

The race is competitive, with Jewish voters (who make up about 6% of the state’s population) potentially emerging as a swing voting bloc. 

“This race is shaping up to be fairly tight, with both candidates making notable outreach efforts to the Jewish community. Jack’s visit to Israel and his strong support for IHRA have had a particularly positive impact,” one Jewish leader in the state told JI.

“Mikie has also engaged significantly, and that effort has been noticed, but concerns remain based on her support of Mamdani in the city and the way she recently framed the call for a ceasefire in Gaza. She still retains goodwill within the Jewish community, but has a long way to go in strengthening trust and confidence,” the leader explained.

A Jewish community leader in Central Jersey, also granted anonymity to speak freely, offered a similar take.

“It’s definitely a race that’s very closely watched in the Jewish community, more than any time in the past, I would say. I think seeing Jack going to Israel, out of all places, just three months before the general election, I think that shows you how important the Jewish vote is going to be this time around, and Jack is losing no time and trying to get the Jewish vote on his side,” the source said.

“I often say that in New Jersey, you have to run for governor as though you’re running for mayor,” Ciattarelli said, adding of his outreach to Democratic and unaffiliated voters, “The biggest compliment I get is when I can come down off a platform or stage, if somebody comes up to me and says, ‘Are you Republican? Are you Democrat?’”

Ciattarelli told JI that he views Bergen County, the state’s most populous county, as a must-win area for his campaign, making the support of Democratic and independent voters necessary in his path to victory. The area, which is represented by Gottheimer in Congress, is also home to around 100,000 Jewish residents, a majority of whom are registered Democrats or independents. 

“Bergen County has a greater population than eight states and it’s the key to winning a statewide election. I did very well, just coming a little short in ‘21, but I do sense a change amongst a great number of people who may not have considered me last time, may not have voted last time that are looking to make a change here in New Jersey,” Ciattarelli said. 

“I often say that in New Jersey, you have to run for governor as though you’re running for mayor,” he continued, adding of his outreach to Democratic and unaffiliated voters, “The biggest compliment I get is when I can come down off a platform or stage, if somebody comes up to me and says, ‘Are you Republican? Are you Democrat?’”

Since narrowly losing his first campaign for governor, Ciattarelli worked hard to unify the party around his repeat bid, making particular effort to secure support from the MAGA wing of the Republican Party. His efforts paid off in the primary, which he won without much serious GOP opposition.

For her part, Sherrill handily defeated five other Democrats, including Gottheimer, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka,and Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, in the Democratic primary. 

With that backdrop, both parties are watching the November gubernatorial contest closely to see if the rightward shift in the Garden State has held since Trump took office in January. For his part, Ciattarelli says that while the issues animating New Jersey voters have not changed since his 2021 race, he believes “what is different is the political landscape.” 

“The issues I was talking about in ‘21, including antisemitism, have now come to a complete boil. They were simmering back then,” Ciattarelli told JI. “I’m not competing with a pandemic this time around. It’s not easy to campaign when there’s a shelter-in-place order. I’m not running against an incumbent. There’s a lot less indifference.”

As part of his strategy to encourage voters to hit the polls in November, he said he was focusing his messaging around “four issues across the state that are raging that apply to all people”: the affordability crisis, affecting housing and energy costs; public education; public safety; and the overdevelopment of the interior of the state, where suburbs without the infrastructure to become a city are being overinvested in at the expense of New Jersey’s cities. 

Regardless of which community he’s engaging with, the New Jersey Republican says the voters he’s spoken to have been more concerned with “how it is I go about solving issues” than national political matters. 

“People get excited by ideas. They don’t want to hear the use of polarizing rhetoric. I think they find it a breath of fresh air when somebody stands up and is speaking to the issues and how they’re going to solve them,” Ciattarelli explained, describing this approach as “the secret to the sauce for me in the seven elections I won prior to November ‘21.”

Both parties are also investing heavily as the race emerges as one of the most competitive statewide elections of 2025. 

The Democratic National Committee said earlier this month that it would provide more than $1.5 million for Sherrill’s campaign to devote to field staffing and ground game efforts. Greater Garden State, a super PAC connected to the Democratic Governors Association, announced plans in July to spend $20 million on ads for Sherrill. That dollar amount is greater than Murphy and outside groups supporting him spent on ad buys during the entire 2021 general election. 

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, the chairman of the Republican Governors Association, visited North Jersey earlier this month for a series of fundraising events for Ciattarelli that brought in $1 million. 

A new Siena poll of New York voters illustrates the unpopularity of the state’s leading political figures in the runup to this year’s mayoral contest and next year’s gubernatorial election. Of particular note is the surging dissatisfaction among many Democratic voters towards elected leaders from their own party.

In the poll, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) hits his all-time low in popularity, with just 38% of New Yorkers viewing him favorably and 50% viewing him unfavorably. His favorability with Democratic voters took a slight downturn since the last Siena survey in April, with just 49% of voters in his own party viewing him favorably.

Among Jewish voters, a narrow 52% majority of New York Jews viewed him favorably, with 43% rating him unfavorably.  

Schumer doesn’t face reelection until 2028, but amid the wave of anti-establishment sentiment within the Democratic Party, the numbers suggest he could face a credible primary threat if he pursues a sixth term.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), who is up for reelection in 2030, also faces a mixed political picture. Her favorability rating is, like every other New York elected official, underwater. But her overall numbers, with 36% viewing her favorably and 38% viewing her unfavorably, are better than nearly all of her counterparts. She’s also the most popular politician among Jewish voters, with 54% viewing her favorably and only 27% viewing her unfavorably.

There’s a notable disconnect between Gov. Kathy Hochul’s job approval rating and favorability rating; more New Yorkers are satisfied with her performance in office than like her personally. Hochul’s job approval rating stands at 53%, with 42% disapproving. But only 42% of New Yorkers view her favorably, while 44% view her unfavorably.

In an early test of a likely 2026 general election matchup between Hochul and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), Hochul leads 45-31%. In that matchup, Jewish voters would divide nearly evenly, with 45% backing Hochul and 42% supporting Stefanik, according to the poll.

Stefanik’s favorability rating statewide is 27%, with 32% viewing her unfavorably — a respectable showing for a Trump-aligned Republican in a solidly blue state. By comparison, a clear majority of New Yorkers (56%) view President Donald Trump unfavorably, with only 37% viewing him favorably.

The survey also breaks out New York City voters for a ballot test of this year’s mayoral race. It finds Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani leading with 44%, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo at 25%, Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa at 12% and Mayor Eric Adams lagging behind at 7%. 

The new poll suggests that Adams’ support has cratered in recent weeks, as Cuomo seeks to consolidate moderates into his camp ahead of the general election. But underscoring the difficulty Cuomo faces, his 29/61% statewide rating is the worst net unfavorability of any of the politicians tested — including Trump and Adams.

Of note: Among Jewish voters in New York state, Mamdani’s numbers are historically dismal. A whopping 75% view the far-left candidate unfavorably, with just 15% viewing him favorably.

Facing pressure from the Virginia Jewish community to speak out against recent anti-Zionist social media posts from state Del. Sam Rasoul, former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee, addressed concerns about antisemitism without specifically referencing Rasoul. 

“This war continues to unleash heartbreak and tragedy as we witness civilian deaths, starving families, and hostages still held by Hamas. These horrors rightly compel so many to advocate for the mass delivery of aid, the release of all Israeli hostages, and a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel,” Spanberger told the Virginia Scope, a political newsletter, in response to a question about Rasoul, who chairs the Education Committee in the House of Delegates. “However, one can and must denounce these tragedies without using antisemitic language, whether intentional or not.” 

She did not specify whether she identified Rasoul’s rhetoric as antisemitic. Spanberger’s campaign did not respond to multiple requests for comment from Jewish Insider. 

Rasoul, a Palestinian-American legislator who represents Roanoke, has in recent weeks taken to social media to call Zionism “evil” and said that it is “making the world less safe for my Jewish friends.”  

In her statement to the Virginia Scope, Spanberger acknowledged the recent rise of antisemitic violence in America.

“Just recently, antisemitic language led to attacks on peaceful protestors in Colorado and the murder of two Israeli Embassy staff members — as well as a growing, pervasive sentiment of fear among our Jewish neighbors. We must recognize our shared commitment to peace and work to rebuild trust in our communities,” she said. 

Rasoul’s rhetoric has drawn criticism from some other Virginia Democrats, including former House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn and Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), who told JI this week that he “forcefully reject[s] any claim that Zionism — the desire of Jewish people to have a state of Israel — is inherently racist or evil.” 

State Sen. Schuyler VanValkenbuerg, a Democrat from the Richmond area, echoed Kaine’s sentiments.
“The current Israeli government deserves condemnation for its actions in Gaza. But the claim that Zionism is inherently evil deserves to be forcefully rejected. It’s wrong and it’s dangerous,” VanValkenburg posted on X on Thursday.

With his path to victory narrowing in the closing stretch of New Jersey’s gubernatorial primary, Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) had placed his hopes for a come-from-behind win on the state’s sizable Jewish community, a politically active voting bloc he saw as a crucial part of his coalition in a crowded race with overlapping constituencies and likely low turnout.

The moderate Jewish Democrat worked to court Jewish voters by touting his pro-Israel record and commitment to fighting antisemitism. Weeks before the election, he received a promising endorsement from the Lakewood Vaad, a coalition of influential Orthodox rabbis. The group, which represents the state’s largest Orthodox bloc, has not traditionally taken sides in primaries but urged Democratic as well as unaffiliated voters to back Gottheimer, promising to deliver thousands of voters he and his allies saw as one of their best chances to make the difference in a close race.

In the end, however, the veteran congressman came in fourth place in Tuesday’s Democratic primary, losing to a fellow House member, Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), by 22 points, even as she had claimed only a third of the vote in the six-way race.

Gottheimer’s poor overall performance across the state came in spite of relatively strong turnout in Lakewood, where he won more than 5,000 votes from the Orthodox community, including several unaffiliated backers, according to Shlomo Schorr, director of legislative affairs for Agudath Israel of America’s New Jersey office.

With nearly 3,000 registered Democrats in the Orthodox community in Lakewood, Gottheimer’s Vaad endorsement helped him secure those votes and to claim additional support from unaffiliated residents, though hardly as many as his allies had hoped to attract: Lakewood has more than 20,000 unaffiliated Orthodox voters — suggesting that only a small fraction of them had declared as Democrats in order to vote in the primary.

Even if he had sought to mobilize those Orthodox voters earlier in the primary, Gottheimer still would have come up short. “None of that would have made a difference,” Schorr told Jewish Insider, given the outcome on Tuesday. “We just don’t have the kind of numbers to flip such a lopsided race, obviously.”

“Had Gottheimer been competitive with Sherrill in the rest of the state, his advantage among the Orthodox community could well have put him over the top,” Dan Cassino, a political scientist and pollster at Fairleigh Dickinson University, said. “Orthodox voters are a reliable source of votes, and Gottheimer put a lot of effort into securing their support. In a game of inches, that could have been decisive, but this race wound up not being a game of inches.”

Micah Rasmussen, director of Rider University’s Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics, said that “Gottheimer was resourceful and smart to reach out to the religious communities of New Jersey — and it did bear fruit for him.”

“But fundamentally, he needed a lot more than those handful of communities could deliver for him,” Rasmussen told JI.

Dan Cassino, a political scientist and pollster at Fairleigh Dickinson University, agreed. “Had Gottheimer been competitive with Sherrill in the rest of the state, his advantage among the Orthodox community could well have put him over the top,” he said. “Orthodox voters are a reliable source of votes, and Gottheimer put a lot of effort into securing their support. In a game of inches, that could have been decisive, but this race wound up not being a game of inches.”

In Lakewood, a deeply conservative community where Republicans vastly outweigh Democrats, Gottheimer had always been severely limited in his ability to claim a decisive share of the electorate, particularly in a race he lost by more than 175,000 votes. By contrast, Jack Ciattarelli, the Republican nominee backed by President Donald Trump, won Lakewood with more than 9,500 votes. In 2021, he came unexpectedly close to unseating outgoing Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, with strong support from the community, even as the Vaad had endorsed the incumbent last cycle.

“Considering he lost by 175,000 votes, there’s not much more he could have done,” a New Jersey political strategist and Jewish community activist said of Gottheimer, adding that the election results showed that the Lakewood Vaad is more capable of turning out significant votes than it was in the past — for second-time Republican nominee Ciatarelli. 

Lakewood helped deliver Ocean County for Ciattarelli, the strategist said, even as the county GOP chair endorsed one of Ciattarelli’s opponents. “That would have been a great day, just good news all around. But the Gottheimer thing kind of leaves people with a bad taste in their mouth.”

Meanwhile, a widely touted nonpartisan effort to register Jewish voters for the Democratic primary succeeded in persuading only a small minority of Lakewood voters to change their party affiliation, said Schorr, who pegged the number at some 250 voters. “It’s very difficult to get people, especially Orthodox Jews, to become registered Democrats,” Schorr told JI. “They’ll vote, maybe, in the election — but to change their affiliation from Republican to Democrat, that you’re not going to get them to do.”

The results raise questions about what basis had existed for the promises and expectations of that re-registration and turnout effort, according to the strategist, who noted the Lakewood votes simply never were up for grabs. “There aren’t a lot of Democratic votes in Lakewood, in the Orthodox community, to be had,” the strategist explained, while adding that Ciattarelli has worked hard to make connections and appeal to those voters.

A local Democratic strategist argued that the disappointing results of the Orthodox turnout effort need to prompt a re-assessment of the strategy.

Even as Gottheimer won his home county of Bergen in northern Jersey, he underperformed in Orthodox communities there and elsewhere in the state, such as Edison and Cherry Hill, said Schorr. “I think they could have done better just from the initial numbers I’ve seen,” he told JI. “The Lakewood area delivered, but other places did not.”

“For Josh, it was a challenge,” a Jewish leader said of Gottheimer. “It wasn’t enough for Josh, but at the end of the day, a pro-Israel and well-known friend of the Jewish community was still elected in part because of the Jewish vote in the state,” the Jewish leader said of Sherrill. 

Notwithstanding his strong record on Israel and antisemitism, across the wider Jewish community, Gottheimer also faced competition from a range of primary rivals including Sherill, former state Senate President Stephen Sweeney and Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, each of whom has, to varying degrees, built relationships with Jewish leaders during their tenures.

The results indicated that Sherrill overperformed and Gottheimer did not see a strong turnout surge, said a Jewish leader in the state who believes that many Jewish community members are now disillusioned with the results. Still, the Jewish leader expects Sherilll will maintain a positive relationship with the Jewish community going forward.

“For Josh, it was a challenge,” another Jewish leader said of Gottheimer, who sought to draw relatively minor contrasts with Sherrill on Jewish issues during the race, as she has called for increased federal action against antisemitism and demonstrated a largely pro-Israel record while in Congress. “It wasn’t enough for Josh, but at the end of the day, a pro-Israel and well-known friend of the Jewish community was still elected in part because of the Jewish vote in the state,” the Jewish leader said of Sherrill. 

Looking toward November, a Jewish leader said that moderate Democratic voters could be up for grabs for Ciatarelli, as many Jewish voters have been feeling disenchanted with the direction of the Democratic Party.

He is also likely to draw strong support from the Orthodox community, where in Lakewood alone there are around 30,000 registered Republicans.

Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) comfortably prevailed in New Jersey’s Democratic gubernatorial primary last night, translating strong fundraising and backing from numerous party leaders into a double-digit margin of victory in the six-candidate field. With most of the ballots tallied, Sherrill won just over one-third of the Democratic vote.

Sherrill, a pragmatic suburban lawmaker and military veteran, will face Republican former state Rep. Jack Ciattarelli in the November general election. Boosted by President Donald Trump’s endorsement, Ciattarelli easily won the GOP nomination.

Sherrill continues the trend of moderate-minded candidates prevailing in recent Democratic primary fights. Three of her Democratic opponents ran to the congressman’s left, with left-wing Newark Mayor Ras Baraka even getting arrested at a federal immigration facility. That activist messaging didn’t end up winning him much traction in the race.

Baraka’s anti-Israel record and past praise of Louis Farrakhan concerned Jewish leaders, but he ultimately finished well behind Sherrill, in second place with 20% of the vote.

Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) ran to the center in the race, spent heavily and worked hard to win over the significant Jewish vote in the state, landing key endorsements from several Orthodox groups. But aside from handily winning his home county of Bergen, he struggled to make inroads in other parts of New Jersey, tallying 12% of the vote. (In Ocean County, where the congressman picked up a key endorsement of the Lakewood Vaad, he lagged in third place.)

Sherrill has compiled a largely pro-Israel record during her time in Congress, and called for more action against antisemitism in the aftermath of the murder of Israeli Embassy staffers outside the Capital Jewish Museum. But she hasn’t been as outspoken as Gottheimer on issues affecting the Jewish community, and declined interview requests from Jewish Insider during the last month of the campaign to more fully discuss her views on antisemitism. 

Ciattarelli also spoke out against antisemitism on the campaign trail, and touted his visit to Israel last summer as he campaigned in Lakewood.

The November general election will offer the first test of whether Trump’s significant gains in the Garden State in last year’s presidential election will hold now that he’s been in office for months — or whether there’s an emerging backlash to his polarizing governance. Trump only lost the once solidly-blue state to then-Vice President Kamala Harris by six points, a much narrower margin than Democrats anticipated.

Ciattarelli ran against outgoing Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, in 2021, and also ran a surprisingly competitive race against the incumbent, losing by just three points. 

As New Jersey’s competitive gubernatorial primary takes place today, Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) looks like the front-runner in the crowded Democratic field but without much public polling and a late flurry of advertising, there’s still a considerable amount of uncertainty as to who will emerge as the nominee in the six-way race.  

Sherrill, a military veteran who has represented a suburban north New Jersey seat since 2018, is the favorite of many Democratic Party officials and has been leading in the limited public polling of the race. The congresswoman has also been one of the top fundraisers in the field, along with Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), who has been courting support from the state’s sizable Jewish community.

“Josh has been betting on the Jewish community coming out strong, and there is a realistic possibility that if new voters emerge in places like Lakewood, which is the fifth-largest city in New Jersey now, it could play a decisive role,” one Jewish community activist, who asked to remain anonymous to discuss the primary, told Jewish Insider on Monday. 

But even as Gottheimer won a key endorsement last month from the Lakewood Vaad, an influential coalition of rabbis from the state’s largest Orthodox Jewish community, other observers expressed some skepticism that the moderate congressman’s strategy of consolidating Jewish support will be enough for him to prevail in the primary to replace Gov. Phil Murphy, a term-limited Democrat.

“I just don’t know if it’s going to be able to be enough to give him the edge,” said Shlomo Schorr, the director of legislative affairs for Agudath Israel of America’s New Jersey office. “It was maybe a bit too late to get the turnout that they had wanted and needed.”

Though Schorr said that Gottheimer’s strong showing in early voting so far in major Orthodox communities such as Teaneck and Lakewood could peel support away from Sherrill, he also speculated that it could help to fuel another candidate, Steve Fulop, the mayor of Jersey City, running as a progressive-minded anti-establishment challenger. 

Fulop, a Jewish Democrat whose campaign is appealing to progressive, younger voters, has said “every single person has a pathway to win.” He has faced backlash from Jewish leaders for opposing legislation to enshrine the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism into state law, though he later walked back his remarks in a mailer aimed at Jewish voters.

Ras Baraka, the mayor of Newark whose coalition in some ways overlaps with Fulop, has experienced a late surge thanks largely to his high-profile arrest last month outside an immigration detention facility in New Jersey, even as his record of commentary on key issues such as Israel and antisemitism has raised concerns among many Jewish leaders in the state.

The other Democrats in the primary include Stephen Sweeney, a moderate who served as president of the state Senate, and Sean Spiller, the president of the New Jersey Education Association who has drawn significant outside support from a super PAC spending more than $8 million to boost his campaign. 

Jack Ciattarelli, a former state assemblyman backed by President Donald Trump, is favored to clinch the Republican nomination. He came close to unseating Murphy in 2021, winning Lakewood in the process. The Vaad has also endorsed his campaign this cycle.

The results of the Democratic primary are more volatile, particularly without the so-called county line that had bestowed establishment-backed candidates with preferential ballot placement.

“With no line, all bets are off,” said a Jewish activist who is not taking sides in the race, speaking on the condition of anonymity to address the primary. “It’s all turnout. I still think it’s Mikie’s to lose. Her team is confident, as is the candidate. But I guess they all are.”

As Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) works to come from behind in the closing weeks of the New Jersey Democratic gubernatorial primary, the veteran congressman is counting on support from the state’s sizable Jewish community to launch him to victory in the June 10 election.

“It’s a key part, a critical part of the coalition,” Gottheimer told Jewish Insider on Monday. “These off-year primaries are — despite what we’re all working to do — it’s always a lower turnout in the off years. And I’d say the Jewish community is very engaged, and I think they play a really important role in the election.”

He argued that he has an extensive record both in office and before his time in Congress fighting antisemitism and supporting the U.S.-Israel relationship, and has forged deep bonds with the Jewish community, particularly at a time when it has been subjected to increased antisemitism.

“I think that [the Jewish] community around the state recognizes that,” Gottheimer said. “I think I’ve made a very strong case of why I’d be an excellent governor for the Jewish community, and for all communities.”

Gottheimer recently picked up the endorsement of the Lakewood Vaad, an influential group of rabbis in one of the state’s largest Orthodox Jewish communities, which urged both Democrats and unaffiliated voters to vote for Gottheimer in the Democratic primary. The endorsement came comparatively early for the Vaad, which in the past has endorsed candidates as late as on Election Day.

As of last week, Lakewood had more than 20,000 unaffiliated Orthodox Jewish voters, in addition to nearly 3,000 Orthodox voters registered as Democrats, according to Shlomo Schorr, the director of legislative affairs for Agudath Israel of America’s New Jersey office. In surrounding communities in Ocean County where the Vaad’s sphere of influence extends, there are 3,500 Orthodox Democrats and 2,250 unaffiliated Orthodox voters, Schorr said.

“It’s a three-part punch: it’s Lakewood coming out early, it’s Lakewood saying to the Democrats they should vote for Josh and it’s them saying [to] the unaffiliated who have the ability to show up that day and declare as a Democrat that they should as well show up for Josh,” a Gottheimer-backing New Jersey strategist said. 

Even as Gottheimer has lagged behind other opponents, such as Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), the establishment favorite in the race, in the limited public polling available, one Gottheimer advisor suggested that current polling could be missing the preferences of the Orthodox community. 

“Orthodox communities such as the Vaad are generally missed as a part of traditional polls because the community is not inclined to participate in traditional opinion polling,” the advisor told JI. “If you wanted to look for a hidden vote that wouldn’t be counted, there’d certainly be evidence that that is one.”

The New Jersey strategist predicted that the Lakewood endorsement would produce a “domino” effect: as the largest Jewish community in the state, Lakewood turning out for Gottheimer could drive turnout among other New Jersey Jewish communities, signaling “that Josh has a viable path to victory and to win.” Some other Jewish community leaders, including a Jersey Shore-based Sephardic Orthodox group, have also endorsed Gottheimer.

If those communities turn out in force for Gottheimer, it could total between 30,000 and 50,000 votes, the strategist said, which “is enough to — 100% — win that election.” They continued, “Josh’s path to victory is Bergen County turning out and the Jewish community turning out.”

Gottheimer also emphasized to JI that he’s been speaking to Jewish communities throughout the state for months, and has won endorsements from mayors and other local officials in areas with large Jewish communities statewide, both Orthodox and non-Orthodox.

“We have very big support — I’ve spent a lot of time — because I think the Jewish community wants somebody who’s going to stand up and fight antisemitism and hate, who’s going to make sure we teach children in K-12 about the Holocaust, about what happened on Oct. 7 [2023], actual facts, and who’s going to be a nationwide leader on these issues,” Gottheimer said. 

“A lot of Jewish voters feel abandoned, and they want someone who’s going to be a champion of them and of the community,” Gottheimer said.

Schorr said the Vaad is anticipating that it can convince not only Democrats but an even more significant number of unaffiliated voters in Lakewood and beyond to pull the lever for Gottheimer in a race that is expected to be fought on the margins.

Along with its endorsement, the Vaad is spending heavily on ads and get-out-the-vote efforts to help raise awareness around the primary, for which early voting begins next Tuesday and ends on Sunday.

Schorr, who clarified that he was not involved in the endorsement discussions and that his own group is not taking sides in the race, acknowledged that the Vaad’s endorsement could “heavily tilt” the election. But he said the late push may face some logistical hurdles with just weeks remaining until the primary.

“There’s not that much time,” he told JI on Tuesday. “Their struggle will be to get people to turn out for the Democratic candidate.”

Livingston, N.J. Mayor Ed Meinhardt, a former synagogue president who has endorsed Gottheimer, said he expects the Jewish community in his town and surrounding areas — including two large Orthodox congregations — to support Gottheimer, adding that Gottheimer’s “path to victory very much goes through the Jewish population of western Essex” County.

Sherrill represents Livingston and other areas of Essex, and local observers expect her to carry a significant share of the Jewish vote in her congressional district.

“I think what Congressman Gottheimer is doing is taking the vote away from Congresswoman Sherrill,” Meinhardt said. “I believe what Congressman Gottheimer is doing is actually splitting the vote and taking the vote away from her and putting it back into his camp … That’s why he’s spent so much time in this area.”

Another local source familiar with the race said that “given the way the numbers are looking, having the Jewish community come out and vote would appear to be a boon for [Gottheimer], and if the Jewish community doesn’t come out and vote for him, it’s going to hurt.”

The source said that the Jewish community in New Jersey — totaling more than 600,000, making it the largest non-Christian religious community in the state — could be enough to swing the race if Jewish voters show up in force and if Gottheimer is able to turn out and unify Jewish voters statewide, outside of his existing Bergen County constituency.

“There’s 120,000 people in Lakewood, so let’s say they could deliver 40,000 votes, give or take, maybe less … but there’s enough there that if the entire community came out and voted for one candidate, there’s a good chance that candidate’s going to win,” the source said.

David Bercovitch, the co-founder of a new political advocacy group called Safeguard Jewish South Jersey, which has endorsed Gottheimer, said the congressman “has garnered the support of so many in the Jewish community because he embodies the values of everyday New Jerseyans.”

“He is a strong advocate on the issues of concern for the Jewish community, as his track record in Congress shows,” Bercovitch told JI. “I believe many will be surprised by the results on June 10 in large part because of his tremendous advocacy for the Jewish community.”

In the GOP primary, the Vaad also endorsed Jack Ciattarelli, a former state assemblyman who won Lakewood in his previous bid for governor in 2021, even as Gov. Phil Murphy, a term-limited Democrat, had notched the coalition’s backing at the time.

The New York Republican gubernatorial primary could pit two lawmakers popular in the Jewish community — Reps. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and Mike Lawler (R-NY) — against each other.

Lawler has long been seen as a likely GOP candidate, but Stefanik’s potential entry comes as more of a surprise, weeks after President Donald Trump asked her to withdraw her nomination to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

Both lawmakers have been stalwart advocates on issues of concern within the Jewish community. Stefanik has been an outspoken supporter of Israel and aggressively questioned college presidents about antisemitism during House Education and Workforce Committee hearings in 2023. 

Lawler leads the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Middle East subcommittee and has also been among the House’s most vocal supporters of Israel and opponents of antisemitism, passing multiple bipartisan bills on the issues. He represents one of the nation’s most Jewish districts in the New York City suburbs, which is also a swing seat.

Stefanik appeared to lean into the speculation — first raised in an NBC News article on Wednesday and confirmed by other outlets — with a campaign press release attacking New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and highlighting a poll showing a majority of New Yorkers do not want Hochul to seek reelection.

“This latest bombshell polling proves what every New Yorker already knows: that we must FIRE Kathy Hochul in 2026 to SAVE NEW YORK. Hochul is the Worst Governor in America and it’s not even close,” Stefanik said in the release. “This polling shows that we can WIN & SAVE NEW YORK.”

A campaign spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment about the possibility of a primary against Lawler. Lawler did not rule out the possibility of a primary against Stefanik, but also praised her.

“Elise Stefanik has been a powerful leader in the House, where she maintains a strong and important role in leading our conference. We both agree that Kathy Hochul is the worst Governor in America, bar none,” Lawler said in a statement to Jewish Insider. “In 2026, New Yorkers have a chance to elect a strong, competent leader to move the state in a better direction. In the coming months the process will play out to ensure that Republicans have the strongest candidate possible.”

Given her long record in Congress, fundraising prowess and close ties to President Donald Trump as a former cabinet nominee and vocal defender of him in GOP leadership, Stefanik would likely have the edge in the GOP primary.

Amid the speculation, Trump posted on Truth Social, “Congresswoman Elise Stefanik is GREAT!!!” suggesting she’d be well-positioned to receive his endorsement. 

But Lawler’s more moderate profile and willingness to reach across the aisle and distance himself from Trump at times could prove an asset in the general election, with swing voters and persuadable Democrats wary of voting for an ardent Trump supporter.

He has twice proven his electoral mettle by winning a district that both former President Joe Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris carried in their presidential campaigns. 

Congressional Republicans would be happy to see Lawler remain in Congress; his departure would make winning his seat more difficult, while Stefanik’s upstate district is more favorable to  Republicans. But Stefanik is also a member of House Republican leadership.

On the other side of the aisle, Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY), another favorite of the Jewish community, has openly mused about a gubernatorial run against Hochul in the Democratic primary.