In an apparent attempt to cope with Republicans’ big losses on Tuesday night, President Donald Trump shared his theory for the trouncing in a Truth Social post.
“‘TRUMP WASN’T ON THE BALLOT, AND SHUTDOWN, WERE THE TWO REASONS THAT REPUBLICANS LOST ELECTIONS TONIGHT,’ according to Pollsters,” he wrote.
In reality, early exit polls showed that many people saw their vote as sending a message of opposition to Trump, CNN reported. The majority of voters in key contests also overwhelmingly disapproved of Trump’s handling of the presidency in those same surveys.
Republicans lost several major races on Tuesday as Democrat Abigail Spanberger flipped the Virginia governor’s mansion, and Democrat Mikie Sherrill helped the party hold onto the New Jersey governor’s seat.
Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani also sent a resounding rebuke to Trump in New York City, where he defeated Independent candidate Andrew Cuomo, whom the president had endorsed the day before.
Democrats had strong showings in less prominent races as well, including maintaining a majority on the Pennsylvania State Supreme Court, maintaining control of the Virginia House of Delegates and winning two seats on Georgia’s Public Service Commission.