Morrisey extends invitation to Virginians as ‘blue wave’ dominates nationwide elections

By Matthew Young, RealWV

Election Day 2025 proved to be something of a “blue wave” across the country, and West Virginians both Republican and Democrat, are making their feelings known. 

Taking to social media Wednesday evening, Gov. Patrick Morrisey extended an offer to Virginians in response to the results of their gubernatorial election, noting that, “It’s about to get awful blue in the Commonwealth of Virginia.”

“Don’t wait for the high taxes to [sic] heavy regulations to come,” Morrisey’s post continued. “Now is your chance to escape to wild and wonderful West Virginia.”

Morrisey’s comments were made following Virginia’s election of Democrat Abigail Spanberger as the commonwealth’s first female governor. Spanberger, a former officer with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and three-term member of the United States House of Representatives, claimed 57.2% of the vote, receiving some 500,000 more votes than Republican candidate Winsome Earl-Sears. 

A Wednesday morning press release from the WV Democratic Party noted that Democrats also flipped 13 seats in the Virginia Legislature by “focusing relentlessly on GOP efforts to end the Affordable Care Act, roll back Medicaid protections, and the failure of Republicans to deliver for working families.”

“Trump-era Republican economics have left working people paying more and getting less,” WV Democratic Party Chair Mike Pushkin stated in the release. “Democrats talked about that. We told the truth about what MAGA policies have done to health care and costs, and voters backed us.”

The “blue wave,” however, went well beyond the Commonwealth of Virginia. In the New York City Mayoral race, and despite threats from President Donald Trump of withholding funding from the city should Democrat Zohran Mamdani emerge victorious, Mamdani easily defeated Democrat-turned-Independent challenger Andrew Cuomo and Republican challenger Curtis Sliwa. And in New Jersey, Democrats held onto the Governor’s Mansion, as Democrat Mikie Sherrill defeated Republican Jack Ciattarelli by more than 13% of the vote. New Jersey Democrats also claimed a supermajority in the state’s General Assembly.

In Georgia, Democrats Alicia Johnson and Peter Hubbard made history by becoming the first of their party to win non-federal statewide elections in 19 years. Claiming some 60% of the vote, Johnson and Hubbard will become the newest Regulators on Georgia’s five-person Public Service Commission. And in Pennsylvania, voters again defied Trump by re-electing three Democratic Supreme Court Justices whom Trump hoped to see ousted. Pennsylvania Democrats also won seats on both the Superior and Commonwealth Courts, in addition to winning big in executive-elections in Bucks, Northampton, Erie, and Lehigh Counties.

A similar story played out in Mississippi, where Democrats gained two seats in the State Senate to break the Republican supermajority, and in Georgetown, South Carolina, where Democrats flipped all three City Council seats. Democrats won a seat on Charlotte, North Carolina’s City Council for the first time in 26 years, and Orlando, Florida saw their last remaining Republican member of the City Council come up short. 

For what many considered to be the “main event” of Election Day 2025, California voters backed Gov. Gavin Newsom’s rebuke of President Donald Trump by overwhelmingly passing Proposition 50, also known as the “Election Rigging Response Act.” Under the Act, which is in actuality a constitutional amendment, the State of California now has the authority to utilize a congressional map, drawn by its legislature, for all elections through the 2030 cycle. 

For his part, Trump seemed to distance himself from the significant amount of Republican losses. Taking to his Truth Social platform Tuesday night, Trump said, “Trump wasn’t on the ballot, and shutdown, we’re the two reasons that Republicans lost elections tonight.” However, the president’s post was made in all capital letters.

WV Democratic Party Vice Chair Teresa Toriseva seemed to have a different take on Tuesday’s results. As part of the WV Democratic’s Tuesday press release, Toriseva said, “Last night was proof that voters want competent, compassionate leadership – and they found it in Democratic women up and down the ballot.”

“From school boards to statehouses, Democratic candidates were disciplined, fearless, and focused on issues that matter to families – good jobs, accessible health care, reproductive freedom, and safe communities,” Toriseva continued. “Voters rewarded that. It was a historic night for Democratic women, and it should inspire more women in West Virginia to step forward.”