Candidates make their closing pitches before Election Day in New Jersey and Virginia

The candidates for governor in New Jersey and Virginia crisscrossed their states in the final weekend of the 2025 campaign season, ahead of the first big elections since President Donald Trump’s victory in 2024.

The candidates for governor in New Jersey and Virginia crisscrossed their states in the final weekend of the 2025 campaign season, ahead of the first big elections since President Donald Trump’s victory in 2024.

The races will provide some early answers to questions facing both political parties, from how to navigate the high cost of living to how to appeal to increasingly swingy Latino voters, as well as which side is more energized going into the 2026 midterms. Republicans face a familiar challenge of turning out Trump’s coalition when he is not on the ballot, while Democrats are looking for a boost after a demoralizing election last year.

In Virginia, former Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger has consistently led her Republican opponent, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, in polling and fundraising throughout the campaign. A more competitive race has formed in New Jersey, according to recent polling, where Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill is facing Republican Jack Ciattarelli, a former state legislator.

Jack Ciattarelli and Mikie Sherrill.USA Today Network via Imagn fileBoth Sherrill and Spanberger were elected to Congress in the party’s 2018 midterm blue wave during Trump’s first term, and they lived together while serving in the House. The former roommates are now looking to lead their party’s electoral pushback against Trump following his return to the White House.

“In 2025, it really feels like the important fight is at the state level in these governor’s offices, because with the president having the presidency, the GOP having the Senate and the House, and even co-opting the Supreme Court, the last bastion feels like governors' races and governors standing in the breach,” Sherrill told NBC News in an interview Friday.