Tuesday night’s election outcomes grabbed headlines across the nation: Ugandan-born Muslim socialist Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor of New York City, Democrats took key state leadership roles in Virginia despite being dogged by text message scandals, and Republican Jack Ciattarelli once again failed to capture the New Jersey governorship. But while these races may have been center stage, other states and cities also cast crucial ballots this week. Here’s some of the election night news you may have missed.

Maine Rejects Voter I.D. Initiative

Voters in the Pine Tree State rejected a ballot proposal Tuesday that would have shortened the period of time available for absentee ballot voting, restricted the number of ballot drop boxes available in the state, and required voters to show photo identification before voting. Question 1 on the ballot asked if voters wanted to amend Maine election laws “to eliminate two days of absentee voting, prohibit requests for absentee ballots by phone or family members, end ongoing absentee voter status for seniors and people with disabilities, ban prepaid postage on absentee ballot return envelopes, limit the number of drop boxes, require voters to show certain photo ID before voting, and make other changes to our elections…”

The measure was rejected 63.7% to 36.3% with over 490,000 votes cast. Many of the state’s more urban areas, including Augusta, Bangor, Lewiston, and Portland voted against the measure, while more rural townships largely supported the provision, especially in the state’s northeast region. Maine is now one of 13 states to require no identification at all to vote, alongside California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Vermont.

In comments to The Washington Stand, FRC Action Director Matt Carpenter opined, “It’s unfortunate Question 1 failed. Voter I.D. requirements are very popular with voters.” He continued, “Looking at the list of reforms Question 1 would’ve adopted, they are all solid reforms in support of election integrity, but I wonder if having so many reforms on one ballot initiative hurt Question 1’s chances. Unfortunately, out-of-state dollars poured in to oppose Question 1 and swamped the pro-Question 1 side.”

Keystone State Keeps Left-Wing Supreme Court Judges

In Pennsylvania, state Supreme Court justices are elected, rather than appointed, in statewide, partisan elections. Once elected, justices serve for a 10-year term, after which voters can vote whether or not to retain the justices. On Tuesday, Pennsylvania voters chose to retain three Democratic justices — Christine Donohue, Kevin Dougherty, and David Wecht — maintaining a Democratic majority of five to two on the court.

According to the Pennsylvania Department of State, roughly $15 million was spent on advertising in the race, with the Democrats making abortion and redistricting the centerpieces of their campaigns. One campaign ad touted the three Democratic judges as “our last line of defense” against pro-life laws enacted in states like Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, and others. The trio of Democrats “ruled in P.A. abortion remains legal, protecting access to birth control,” the ad boasted. Pro-abortion groups like the Planned Parenthood Action Fund celebrated Donohue’s, Dougherty’s, and Wecht’s wins. “This election sent a clear message: Pennsylvanians demand control over their bodies and their health care,” said Planned Parenthood Action Fund CEO Alexis McGill Johnson in a statement.

President Donald Trump, meanwhile, urged Pennsylvania voters to reject the three Democrats. “[Y]ou can bring back the Rule of Law, and stand up for the Constitution. There are three Radical Democrat Supreme Court Justices on the Ballot for a 10 year retention. Vote ‘NO, NO, NO’ on Liberal Justices Donohue, Dougherty, and Wecht,” the president urged Pennsylvanians. “These activist Judges unlawfully gerrymandered your Congressional maps, which led to my corrupt Impeachment(s), and locked you up during COVID by closing your small businesses, schools, and churches. They let sex offenders out of prison, and ruled for Sleepy Joe Biden over and over, and interfered in the 2020 Election. It is time for Justice.”

“This is unsurprising,” Carpenter commented. “State supreme court judges facing retention votes win almost every single time. I’ve seen estimates as high as 99% of judges who have to face a retention vote are retained. It’s incredibly hard to get voters to not retain a state supreme court judge.”

Pennsylvania Elects First Transgender-Identifying Mayor

The small Pennsylvania town of Downingtown, some 30 miles west of Philadelphia, elected a man who identifies as a woman, Democrat Erica Deuso, as the state’s first openly-transgender-identifying mayor. “Tonight, the numbers are clear,” Deuso said in a statement early Wednesday morning. “We won. Voters chose hope, decency, and a community where every neighbor matters. I am honored to be elected as Pennsylvania’s first openly transgender mayor. I carry that responsibility with care and with purpose.”

Deuso defeated Republican Richard Bryant to succeed incumbent Democrat Phil Dague as mayor. Home to roughly 9,000 people, Downingtown is run by a six-member council, which Deuso will now oversee, in addition to managing municipal police and fire personnel. On his X account, Deuso has suggested violence in response to federal immigration enforcement, called President Donald Trump a “pedophile, serial sexual abuser, and convicted felon,”claimed that “country has ever been truly communist,” and admitted that he is not proud to be American.

While Deuso centered his campaign on “Fair Labor, Education, Gender Equality, and LGBTQ+ Rights,” Bryant had focused his attention on solving flooding resulting from the nearby U.S. Route 30, bolstering public safety, and “preserving the small-town character that makes Downingtown so special” by halting “overdevelopment.” Downingtown was settled in 1716, mostly by Quakers, and became a central location for paper mills during the time of the American Revolution. The town is named after Thomas Downing, a Quaker businessman who left England to help settle the town in 1717.

“The more this sort of thing happens for Democrats, the harder it will be to separate the party brand from the transgender agenda, an agenda that is wildly unpopular,” Carpenter pointed out. “This time last year, there were congressional Democrats trying to distance themselves from the transgender lobby after the party suffered significant losses because of this issue in 2024. Separating the party from the transgender agenda will become increasingly more difficult.”

Twin Cities Elect Illegal Immigrant but Not Somali Socialist

The City of St. Paul in Minnesota elected State Rep. Kaohly Vang Her (D) as its first mayor to describe herself as an illegal immigrant. In June, Her admitted on the state house floor that she and her family are illegal immigrants. “I asked my father about how we came to the United States, and I always thought we came here because my grandfather was a colonel in the Secret War,” the Democrat said, in a speech supporting legislation granting illegal immigrants access to taxpayer-funded benefits. “I had thought that meant that we were in line to come to the U.S. and my mother told me — my father told me that was not true,” she detailed of her family’s move from Laos to the U.S. Her father, who worked for the U.S. Consulate in Laos at the time, falsified paperwork in order to bring his family to the U.S. “I am illegal in this country, my parents are illegal here in this country,” Her declared.

In her victory speech, the mayor-elect pledged to combat the Trump administration’s efforts to enforce federal immigration law and put the “full force of the city behind defending our neighbors.” She said, “It’s not a question of when they come, because they’re already here, it’s a question of how hard and where.”

“As Democrats in Congress have been saying for years now: ‘no one is above the law!’ Should the Trump State Department review the circumstances of her family’s entrance into the U.S., and determine there was fraud, they would be justified in denaturalizing and deporting Mayor Vang Her,” Carpenter told TWS. “If we cannot control who, or what, comes into our country, do we have a country?”

Voters in neighboring Minneapolis also elected a mayor, via ranked choice voting, choosing incumbent Democrat Jacob Frey over socialist challenger Omar Fateh, who anchored his campaign in the city’s large Somalian population. “While this wasn’t the outcome we wanted, I am incredibly grateful to every single person who supported our grassroots campaign. I’ll keep fighting alongside you to build the city we deserve,” the Muslim Fateh said in a social media post conceding defeat. According to results released by Minneapolis, Frey won a third term as mayor with just over 50% of the vote, against Fateh’s 44.3%.

While campaigning, Fateh espoused socialist fiscal and housing policies, earning the nickname “Minneapolis Mamdani” in reference to the Muslim socialist who took New York City’s mayoralty on Tuesday, and strong opposition to the Trump administration, especially on immigration and LGBT issues. “The only way to stand up to Trump and his posse of unelected billionaires is to create a city that is radically inclusive and stands up for those who are the most at risk. I am running for mayor so we can do that work together,” Fateh said on his campaign website.

“This may be the first instance in history in which ranked choice voting didn’t elect the more liberal candidate,” Carpenter quipped. “I’m not sure how Mayor Frey and Omar Fateh are different, but I do know Fateh tried to campaign as the ‘Mamdani of the Midwest,’ and so I think this result could be seen as a small victory for those who oppose the emerging alliance between Islamism and Socialism in the Democratic Party.”

Texas Bolsters Parental Rights and Election Integrity

While many of Tuesday’s elections resulted in Democratic wins, Lone Star State voters delivered victories for parents and for election integrity, backing a pair of ballot measures to amend the state’s constitution. Proposition 15 enshrines a constitutional right for parents “to exercise care, custody, and control of the parent’s child, including the right to make decisions concerning the child’s upbringing,” and was approved with nearly 70% of the vote. The only two counties where a majority voted against the measure were Frio County and Travis County, home to Austin.

Proposition 16 amends the Texas Constitution to ensure that “persons who are not citizens of the United States” cannot vote in state or local elections. (Noncitizens voting in federal elections is already illegal under federal law, although not all districts enforce that law.) The provision passed with 72% of the vote, with Frio and Travis Counties once again being the only two where a majority opposed the measure.

“Tuesday’s results were almost universally bad for Republicans and conservatives, however, the people of Texas delivered a significant win for election integrity by approving an amendment to the state constitution to require proof of citizenship to vote in the state,” Carpenter charged. “Ten years ago, this would have been seen as unnecessary, but after watching the Biden administration let in millions of foreign nationals, this kind of amendment to the Texas state constitution is very necessary, unfortunately.”

Golden State Approves Partisan Redistricting

California voters backed Governor Gavin Newsom’s (D) “Election Rigging Response Act,” a constitutional amendment allowing the Democrat-controlled state legislature to redistrict California’s congressional map, a move anticipated to create five new Democratic seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and potentially eliminate Republican seats. The measure passed 64% to 36%.

Newsom has framed the partisan redistricting as a response to the president encouraging Republican-led state legislatures to draw new congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, which the governor referred to as “trying to rig the midterm elections.” In a social media post, Newsom said, “Donald Trump poked the bear. And the bear roared back.”

Seattle Socialist Falls Behind

Ballots are still being counted in the Emerald City, but so far incumbent Democratic Mayor Bruce Harrell holds 53% of the vote, against socialist and community organizer Katie Wilson’s 46%. “A win for Harrell would make him the first Seattle mayor to win reelection since Greg Nickels in 2005 — and suggest the city’s voters may not be ready to embrace Wilson’s brand of progressive politics,” Axios observed. However, the outlet warned, “Typically, progressive candidates in Seattle gain ground in later ballot counts, meaning Harrell’s lead may not hold.”

“Although the socialist Wilson is losing, she’s demonstrated an alarming level of support. Seattle is often associated with far-left politics, and so this is no surprise,” Carpenter observed. “Wilson’s strong showing is further evidence that Mamdani’s style of overtly anti-American, socialist, Democratic politics is having a moment. It has yet to be seen if moderate elements on the Left, if there are any, can reign in this emerging trend on the Left.”