TV News LIES

Zohran Mamdani’s incoming administration began taking shape on Wednesday as the New York City mayor-elect announced a transition team to help enact what he called the city’s most ambitious policy platform in a generation, vowing to get right to work when he takes office on 1 January.

Speaking at a morning press conference in Queens, the 34-year-old democratic socialist revealed an all-female transition team led by Elana Leopold as executive director. It also includes co-chairs Maria Torres-Springer, the former first deputy mayor; Lina Khan, the former federal trade commission chair; the United Way’s president and CEO, Grace Bonilla; and the former deputy mayor for health and human services Melanie Hartzog.

“In the coming months, I and my team will build a city hall capable of delivering on the promises of this campaign,” Mamdani told reporters. “We will form an administration that is equal parts capable and compassionate, driven by integrity and willing to work just as hard as the millions of New Yorkers who call this city home.”

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Zohran Mamdani has won the race for New York City mayor, according to Decision Desk HQ, ushering in a new era of progressive politics in the city and reigniting the debate over the Democratic Party’s future.

Mamdani, a 34-year-old democratic socialist, is poised to become the first millennial and first Muslim to lead New York City, after a campaign that pulled off one of the most stunning political upsets in recent memory. He defeated former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who mounted a long-shot independent bid after losing to Mamdani in the Democratic primary, and Republican Curtis Sliwa in his bid to succeed Mayor Eric Adams.

Mamdani focused heavily on affordability, pledging to freeze rent, establish city-owned grocery stores and make buses free for riders. He quickly became a progressive icon as well as a polarizing figure within the party over his positions, so much so that it divided prominent New York Democratic leadership over whether to endorse him.

One of the biggest flash points in the race, however, centered on his views on the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Mamdani was heavily criticized for not initially condemning the phrase “globalize the intifada.” Though the New York State Assembly member has not used the term, pro-Israel activists say it risks inciting violence against Zionists and Jews, while pro-Palestinian activists equate it largely with Palestinian liberation.

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Former Virginia Del. Jay Jones (D) was projected to oust incumbent Attorney General Jason Miyares (R) in the race for the state’s top law enforcement spot on Tuesday, staving off a texting controversy that dogged his candidacy in the campaign’s final month. 

While the race was always considered one of the more competitive statewide contests in Virginia this cycle, it was roiled in its final stretch by resurfaced violent texts sent by Jones in 2022 about then-state House Speaker Todd Gilbert (R).

“Three people, two bullets,” Jones wrote in a text to Del. Carrie Coyner (R) about Gilbert. 

“Gilbert, hitler, and pol pot,” Jones wrote. “Gilbert gets two bullets to the head.”

“Spoiler: put Gilbert in the crew with the two worst people you know and he receives both bullets every time,” Jones told Coyner.

Coyner, in response, told Jones, who at the time did not hold an elected office, to stop.

Jones apologized for the texts, but Republicans from Miyares to President Trump used the scandal to attack the Democrat throughout the final month of the campaign.

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State Sen. Ghazala Hashmi (D) defeated conservative talk show host John Reid in the Virginia lieutenant governor’s race on Tuesday, becoming the first Indian person to hold statewide office in the commonwealth and the first Muslim woman to win a statewide race in the U.S.

Hashmi led Reid throughout the general election, but polling in the race narrowed considerably in the run-up to Election Day.

Hashmi narrowly won her Democratic primary in June, defeating former Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney and state Sen. Aaron Rouse. 

Hashmi hails from the progressive wing of the Democratic Party and had the support of Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) in the primary.

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Former Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) defeated Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears (R) in Virginia’s gubernatorial election on Tuesday, according to Decision Desk HQ, becoming the first woman to serve as governor of the commonwealth. 

Her victory in the closely watched bellwether state will be touted by the Democrats’ moderate wing in particular, as the party wrestles with how to define itself heading into next year’s midterm elections.

Spanberger first came onto the political scene in 2018 when she ousted former Republican Rep. Dave Brat in the state’s 7th Congressional District. She served in Congress, where she had a history of working with Republicans, from 2019 to the beginning of 2025. 

Spanberger’s gubernatorial campaign kicked off two years ago, and while there was speculation Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) was considering a run as well, the former congresswoman went unchallenged in the primary. 

Her campaign was defined by its highly disciplined nature, with Spanberger staying focused on her affordability message and defending Virginia from the impacts of President Trump’s cuts to the federal workforce.

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Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.) defeated former New Jersey General Assembly member Jack Ciattarelli (R) in the New Jersey governor’s race, securing a major win for Democrats in their first election cycle since the start of President Trump’s second term, according to Decision Desk HQ.

Sherrill, a fourth-term congresswoman representing a district in northern New Jersey, fended off a competitive challenge from Ciattarelli, who ran for governor for a third time after narrowly losing to New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) in 2021. Murphy is term-limited and couldn’t run again.

The race turned increasingly competitive in recent weeks, with some polling showing the election as a toss-up, as both candidates grappled with crisscrossing political headwinds.

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