President Trump pointed to “pollsters” who say the government shutdown — combined with the fact that his name wasn’t on Tuesday’s ballot — were key reasons behind the Republican losses on Election Day.
“‘TRUMP WASN’T ON THE BALLOT, AND SHUTDOWN, WERE THE TWO REASONS THAT REPUBLICANS LOST ELECTIONS TONIGHT, according to Pollsters,” Trump posted on Truth Social on Tuesday night.
Republicans lost major races on Tuesday, though the vast majority of them were in deep blue states and districts.
In New York City, socialist candidate Zohran Mamdani defeated a rare bipartisan coalition that had rallied behind former Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) to win the mayor’s race.
Out west, California voters approved Proposition 50, effectively dismantling the state’s two-decade-old independent redistricting system. The measure clears the way for a new congressional map that could hand Democrats as many as five additional House seats in the 2026 midterm elections.
“It was not expected to be a victory. I don’t think it was good for Republicans. I’m not sure it was good for anybody, but we had an interesting evening, and we learned a lot,” Trump said at a Wednesday morning breakfast with GOP senators.
In New Jersey, a race that many expected to be close turned into a decisive win for Democrat Mikie Sherrill, who defeated Republican Jack Ciattarelli by a double-digit margin — 56.2% to 43.2% — with 95% of ballots counted as of Wednesday morning.
In Virginia, Democrat Abigail Spanberger also scored a commanding victory, defeating Republican Winsome Earle-Sears by more than 15 points, 57.5% to 42.3%, with 96% of votes tallied.
For comparison, former President Donald Trump lost both states in the previous year’s election — by 5.7 points in Virginia and 5.9 points in New Jersey,
House Republicans are exploring legal and constitutional strategies to block Mamdani from being sworn into office, citing the Constitution’s post–Civil War “insurrection clause.”
The effort, first reported by the New York Post, is being led in part by the New York Young Republican Club, which argues that Mamdani’s past statements calling to “resist ICE” and his ties to left-wing organizations could qualify as “giving aid or comfort to the enemies” of the United States — language drawn directly from Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.
That provision, enacted in 1868, bars from public office any person who has “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” against the United States, or who has provided “aid or comfort” to its enemies.
The clause was originally intended to prevent former Confederate officials from holding office but has recently re-emerged in political debates over ballot eligibility.
“There is a real and legitimate push to see the insurrectionist Zohran Mamdani either a) removed from the ballot or b) removed from office if he is to win on Tuesday,” said Stefano Forte, president of the New York Young Republican Club.
Several House Republicans are said to be reviewing whether the clause could be enforced through new legislation or congressional action following the election.
The idea mirrors the legal arguments used in Colorado last year to try to disqualify Trump from the state’s ballot — a move the Supreme Court ultimately overturned, ruling that Congress, not individual states, has the constitutional authority to enforce Section 3.
The Court’s decision has emboldened some GOP lawmakers who believe the ruling effectively places responsibility for such enforcement in the hands of Congress, where Republicans currently hold a narrow 219–213 majority in the House.
According to two congressional aides, Republican leaders may consider holding a post-election vote to declare Mamdani ineligible for office under the clause. Such a measure would face significant procedural and legal hurdles, including a likely filibuster in the Democrat-controlled Senate and near-certain court challenges.
Senator Ted Cruz launched a blistering attack against Democratic leadership, blaming them squarely for a government shutdown that has lingered into its 29th day.
According to Cruz, the shutdown is not about genuine policy negotiation but about protecting Chuck Schumer and appeasing the radical left‑wing of his party.
Cruz argued that Democrats, under Schumer’s guidance, intentionally allowed the funding for the federal government to lapse.
He said their demands—among them taxpayer‑funded healthcare for undocumented immigrants and the reversal of work requirements for able‑bodied adults—are so extreme they have effectively triggered this standoff.
In Cruz’s view, this is not a simple budget dispute but a political maneuver. “This is all about political saving Chuck Schumer’s rear end,” Cruz declared, accusing Schumer of throwing American taxpayers under the bus in order to placate his party’s base.
He said: “We’re on day 29 of the stupidest shutdown. This is the SCHUMER Shutdown.”
Cruz’s words reflect deep frustration over the failure of the Senate to approve even a clean funding measure, even though the House passed one.
He painted the situation starkly: “The reason the government is shut down is that Chuck Schumer has a political problem. And he has a political problem from right where you’re sitting right now, from New York.” Cruz went on to assert that progressives in the Democratic Party almost removed Schumer from his leadership post after an earlier decision to allow funding to continue—yet now Schumer is playing to that same base by refusing to open the government.
Cruz accused Democrats of hypocrisy, pointing out that when shutdowns happened under Democratic leadership in the past, they condemned the tactic. Now, he says, they are using it as a weapon for pure politics rather than public service.
He warned that at some point “seven or eight Democrats are going to have some sense come into them.” According to Cruz, it’s likely that these will be retiring Democrats—those no longer worried about a primary challenge—who are free to break ranks because they don’t face the same pressure from the radical left‑wing base. In his telling, those in danger of primaries must pander to extreme positions, thus forcing the shutdown.
Cruz emphasized that while the shutdown continues, essential services are still functioning, but many federal workers are going without pay. The underlying damage, he said, goes beyond the immediate. He argued the shutdown erodes public trust in government, hurts working families and veterans, and punishes taxpayers who did nothing to create the mess.
He urged Americans to see the shutdown for what it is: not a noble policy stand, but a power move. “We’re NOT watching public policy, or elected officials who give a D‑MN about the people they represent!” Cruz exclaimed, shifting into a more emotional tone to emphasize his point that ordinary citizens are suffering while political games play out.
Cruz pointed specifically to the issue of illegal immigration and healthcare. He argued that Democrats’ refusal to reopen the government without addressing their demands for undocumented immigrants is proof that this is about something other than funding normal government operations.
“Their demands include taxpayer‑funded healthcare for illegal aliens and a reversal of the Republican reforms blocking handouts to able‑bodied adults who refuse to work.”
He also suggested the Democrats are exploiting the shutdown to demonstrate to their base that they are willing to “stand up” against Donald Trump and Republicans—even if that means harming the country in the process.
“They almost threw [Schumer] out of the job as minority leader… This shutdown exists for one purpose, and it’s for him to tell the crazy left‑wing base… I hate Donald Trump as much as you do,” he said.
Cruz urged Republicans and the American public to hold their ground: not to allow the Democrats to continue using the shutdown as leverage.
He called for clean funding measures—free from what he described as extraneous partisan policy riders—to be approved immediately.
According to him, the first priority should be reopening the government, then negotiating policy reforms rather than forcing them through the appropriation process.
He stressed that constituents should issue pressure: “If your senator tells you this is just about principles and policy, ask them whose principles and whose policy.”
Cruz asserted that the agenda being pushed is not aligned with the values of most Americans or taxpayers, but rather with a specific faction within the left‑wing of the Democratic Party.
Cruz also addressed the optics: he said the public looks at this and sees dysfunction. He warned that the longer the shutdown drags on, the greater the risk of long‑term damage—not only to federal operations but to faith in governance itself.
“You do not build trust in government by shutting it down. You build it by opening it, doing work, and delivering for the people,” he said.