Election 2025: A repudiation of Trump’s anti-worker agenda

In Washington and across the U.S., voters elected candidates proposing real solutions. Here are some selected results.

SEATTLE, WA (November 5, 2025) — Pro-worker candidates swept elections around the country last night, a resounding defeat for the billionaires-first agenda pushed by Republicans in D.C. For those looking to read the tea leaves heading into 2026, this election offers some insight into the mindset of voters critical of a federal administration hellbent on pushing extreme ideology rather than addressing the real problems working families grapple with every day.

In Washington state, labor-endorsed candidates for the State Legislature were largely in the lead on Tuesday night, with the exception of State Rep. Edwin Obras, trailing challenger Kevin Schilling by fewer than 400 votes. In the 5th legislative district, labor’s candidate, State Sen. Victoria Hunt, was up nearly 10 points over her opponent and in the 48th LD, State Sen. Vandana Slatter also carries a healthy lead. Both Hunt and Slatter have strong lifetime labor voting records, 100% and 99%, respectively.

“While there are many more ballots to be counted, initial results show that WSLC-endorsed candidates made gains in key legislative districts,” said Osta Davis, Washington State Labor Council Political & Strategic Campaigns Director. “Washingtonians were able to discern between the candidates, favoring those who offered steady leadership and put forward actionable solutions to our pressing problems. Nationally, tonight’s results were a repudiation of Trump’s anti-worker agenda.”

In New Jersey and Virginia, where races for statewide office were cast as a direct referendum on the Trump presidency, Democrats won both governorships. In Virginia, a state hit hard by the Republican administration’s attack on the federal workforce, Democrats likewise were elected as Lieutenant Governor and Attorney General (Ghazala Hashmi, Lt. Gov-elect, is the first Muslim woman elected to statewide office in the nation). Democrats also gained 13 seats in the Virginia House of Delegates, where Dems will now hold at least 64 of the 100 seats, a first in over 40 years. Democrats flipped seats on Georgia’s Public Service Commission — the first time Democrats in the Peach State have won statewide elections to a state-level office in nearly 20 years. In Mississippi, Democrats flipped three seats in state Senate, breaking the Republican supermajority.

Californians voted overwhelmingly to approve new congressional district maps, a potential counterweight to partisan gerrymandering pushed by the Trump administration. Zohran Mamdani, the new Mayor-elect of New York City, may have charted a path forward for a Democratic party hemorrhaging support among young men; he was up 40 points with men under the age of 30 in a NBC News exit poll Tuesday evening.

“Last night, voters across the country sent a clear message: When candidates stand with workers, they win,” said AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler in a statement.

“We don’t need to wait for lengthy post-mortems on this election to understand what happened last night,” Shuler continued. “At the doors and on the phones, workers told us the same thing we hear at jobsites and in union halls across the country: People want leaders who will stand up for us, focus on the issues we care most about, deliver real solutions that support working people and protect our democracy.”

Below are results in WSLC-endorsed races as of 10:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 4.

STATEWIDE BALLOT MEASURE

Ballot Measure 8201: APPROVED 56.78% — REJECTED 43.22%

LEGISLATIVE RACES

WSLC-endorsed candidate listed in bold.

LD 5:

Senate: Victoria Hunt 54.54% — Chad Magendanz 45.34%

LD 26:

Senate: Deb Krishnadasan 52.66% — Michelle Caldier 47.26%

LD 33:

Senate: Tina L. Orwall 94.96%
House 1: Kevin Schilling 50.19% — Edwin Obras 47.26%

LD 34:

Senate: Emily Alvarado 96.81%
House 1: Brianna K. Thomas 96.86%

LD 41:

House 1: Janice Zahn 69.42% — John Whitney 30.43%

LD 48:

Senate: Vandana Slatter 55.9% — Amy Walen 42.29%
House 1: Osman Salahuddin 68.24% — Dennis Ellis 31.58%