CNN’s chief data analyst, Harry Enten, on Monday said Democrats leading in key races have shared a “key common component” despite their ideological differences as they head into election night: they’re going after Donald Trump.
“Democrats are on the precipice of delivering a huge blow to Donald Trump in his second term,” Enten told CNN’s Sara Sidner.
Enten, citing an aggregate of polls, highlighted how Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.) is up by +6 points in the New Jersey gubernatorial race, while former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, a moderate, is leading by +10 points in the Virginia gubernatorial race.
New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist, is up by +16 points, as well.
Trump has endorsed Sherrill’s opponent, former New Jersey state Rep. Jack Ciattarelli (R), and has enthusiastically backed former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the latter of whom lost to Mamdani in an upset in June’s Democratic mayoral primaries before he launched an independent bid.
The president has not backed Virginia’s GOP candidate for governor, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, by name.
Enten went on to stress that Trump has been a “huge drag” in the races before pointing to an aggregate of polls showing how the president’s net popularity rating is underwater in New Jersey (-11 percentage points), Virginia (-14 points) and New York City (-35 points).
He noted that the president’s net popularity rating on a national scale is underwater (-13 points), as well.
“So, these races,” Enten continued, “in my mind, could be huge bellwethers going into next year to understanding how Donald Trump is impacting these races.”
