Here Are the November Off-Year Political Races to Watch

It may not be a presidential or midterm election year, but elections are happening in November that could have significant implications for national politics.

These so-called off-year races will provide a snapshot of voter sentiment as President Donald Trump moves toward a full year back in office.

Here are the races to watch.

New York City Mayor

The race to be mayor of the largest U.S. city is a three-way competition among state Rep. Zohran Mamdani, a Democrat; former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat; and Curtis Sliwa, a Republican.

Mamdani identifies as a socialist. His platform includes city-run grocery stores, rent freezes for stabilized tenants, fare-free buses, a tax on those making more than $1 million annually, a minimum wage of $30 per hour by 2030, a department of community safety, and free child care.

He has come under fire for refusing to condemn the anti-Semitic phrase “globalize the intifada” amid Israel’s war with the Hamas terrorist group.

Cuomo, who served as governor of New York between 2011 and 2021, is running on a platform of creating affordable housing, increasing the size of the New York Police Department, combatting anti-Semitism, and increasing subway safety.

Sliwa, chief executive of the Guardian Angels, a crime-fighting nonprofit, has a platform that includes hiring more police officers, implementing a tough-on-crime agenda, expanding housing for seniors and working families, converting commercial spaces into housing, and other initiatives.

The current mayor, Eric Adams, ended his reelection campaign on Sept. 28.

Polls show Mamdani with a comfortable double-digit lead.

Virginia Governor

Virginia’s four-year gubernatorial cycle means that the election for governor always falls in November of the year after a presidential election. This year, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, a Republican, will face off against Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) in a race that Democrats are currently favored to win.

The state has trended blue in past decades. It voted for then-Vice President Kamala Harris by a 5.78 percentage point margin in the 2024 election, down from the double-digit margin for then-candidate Joe Biden in the 2020 election.

Spanberger, who has lived in Virginia since her family moved to the state from New Jersey when she was 13, has consistently led in polls, with many showing her having a double-digit lead.

Trafalgar, a Republican-leaning pollster, found Spanberger leading by 5 points.

The most recent poll, by Christopher Newport University, found Spanberger leading Earle-Sears by 10 points.

Nevertheless, some polls have shown Spanberger’s lead to be within the margin of error, although the last poll to find a tie was conducted in January. Earle-Sears has not led in any polls.

Given Virginia’s proximity to the nation’s capital and its demographic mix of urban and rural voters, this race often receives special attention as a reflection of national sentiment.

In 2021, the race indicated growing dissatisfaction with Biden’s performance as Republican Glenn Youngkin achieved a surprise victory over Democrat Terry McAuliffe.

Early voting began on Sept. 19.

New Jersey Governor

Spectators are also paying attention to the gubernatorial election in New Jersey, a historically blue state that came within 6 points of backing Trump over Harris in 2024.

In the Garden State, Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.) is facing off against former state Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli, a Republican, in a race that has drawn infusions of resources from both parties that are on track to break records in the state.

The race has already drawn more than $70 million in spending from Democrats and Republicans.

Sherrill is a former Navy pilot and four-term congresswoman. Ciattarelli ran for New Jersey governor in 2021 but lost to incumbent Gov. Phil Murphy.

Now, Ciattarelli hopes to rely on voter frustration with both Murphy and Trump, and has represented himself as a “Jersey guy” focusing on core kitchen-table issues.

As in Virginia, Democrats have a baked-in advantage in the blue-leaning state. However, polls show that Democrats are in a less favorable position in New Jersey.

The race has tightened since the beginning of September, with Sherrill’s lead remaining in the single digits. Some polls have found a dead heat, while one poll sponsored by Ciattarelli shows a narrow lead for the Republican.

Virginia Attorney General

This race, between incumbent Jason Miyares, a Republican, and former Virginia House Delegate Jay Jones, a Democrat, has heated up after National Review published an explosive story on how Jones once wished for the death of Todd Gilbert, former speaker of the Virginia House.

Jones wrote in an August 2022 text exchange to a former Republican state legislator that if he had two bullets and the choice of shooting Gilbert, Pol Pot, or Hitler, he would use both bullets against Gilbert.

Spanberger condemned the rhetoric, saying she had expressed “disgust” over Jones’s comments in a conversation with the candidate.

Miyares said the messages show that Jones is unfit for office, noting that the recent revelations have shown Jones to be “reckless, biased, and willing to trade away his integrity, disqualifying himself from ever serving as attorney general.”

In a statement to another outlet, Jones stopped short of apologizing.

“Like all people, I’ve sent text messages that I regret and I believe that violent rhetoric has no place in our politics,” he said, accusing Miyares of “dropping smears through Trump-controlled media organizations” to assault his character and rescue Miyares’s own desperate campaign.

Pennsylvania Supreme Court

In Pennsylvania, voters will be casting ballots on whether to retain three Democratic members of the state’s Supreme Court, a race that could have national implications.

The three Democrats, Justices Christine Donohue, Kevin Dougherty, and David Wecht, are facing so-called retention elections.

Rather than voting for challengers, voters will simply be asked to vote yes or no on keeping the justices in their current roles.

Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, has urged voters to back retaining the justices.

Pennsylvania, known as a swing state, has been a top prize for both parties for decades because of its high electoral vote count.

The state’s Supreme Court could have an important role to play in future election-related decisions.

Ballot Measures

Finally, voters across multiple states will consider ballot measures, including several of national interest.

The most-watched ballot measure will be California’s Proposition 50, which asks voters to temporarily override an independent congressional districting commission in order to allow Democrats to flip as many as five House seats.

Gov. Gavin Newsom, a leading advocate of Proposition 50, has said the measure is necessary to respond to redistricting in Texas that could allow Republicans to flip up to five House seats.

If approved by voters, the new maps drawn by the Legislature would remain in effect until 2030, at which point control over the process would be returned to the independent commission.

Ballot measures will also be considered in Maine and Texas.

In Maine, voters will consider Maine Question 1, which would require voters to present a valid photo ID to vote.

In Texas, voters will consider a flurry of tax-related ballot measures, including a push to abolish the estate tax in Texas.

Voters will also be asked to vote on Proposition 15, a parental rights amendment to the state’s constitution that would declare that parents have the right “to exercise care, custody, and control of the parent’s child, including the right to make decisions concerning the child’s upbringing.”

Texas voters will also vote on Proposition 16, which would require that an individual be a citizen in order to vote.

Voting by illegal immigrants is already outlawed in all 50 states, including by existing Texas statutes, and in federal law.