The Democratic candidates for governor in New Jersey and Virginia are making opposition to Donald Trump central to their pitches. In California, an ad urges voters to "stick it to Trump," while New York City's frontrunner for mayor says he'll "stand up" to the president of the United States if he wins.
Trump's name is not on the ballot in 2025. He's a lame duck whose political retirement looms in three years. But the off-year races culminating on Nov. 4 have nonetheless put a spotlight onto the 79-year-old Republican - his likeness featured in ads, debates and on the minds of voters as America braces for its first general election since Trump won his second term nearly a year ago.
Democrats have reasons for optimism. The major 2025 races in New Jersey, Virginia and California are largely being fought on turf where Trump is both unpopular and never won his own statewide campaign. The president's opponents are hoping they can tap into the angst felt by voters such as Mary Ruehl, a 71-year-old Virginia resident who said she'd been thinking of the current White House occupant as she recently cast a ballot at an early polling location.
“I want to try to get Trump out,” said Ruehl, a retired Air Force officer and lifelong Democrat, adding: “He’s the worst president we’ve ever had.”
