Yet on Tuesday night, the Associated Press’s exit polls showed New Jersey Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill outpacing her opponent, Jack Ciattarelli, by nearly 40 points among Latino voters and carried several counties won by Trump, with heavy Latino support. Sherrill also received support from almost 90% of black voters and 80% of Asian voters. Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) similarly overperformed with black, Asian, and Latino voters in Virginia, compared to the 2024 results.

Voters under 30 also shifted significantly to the Left in virtually every race. Spanberger pulled 70% of the demographic, according to CNN’s exit polls, while Sherrill pulled 68%. In New York City’s mayoral race, Zohran Mamdani pulled in a whopping 78% of young voters. In California, 79% of voters under 30 voted for Proposition 50, the congressional redistricting proposal put forward by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA).

Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin was bullish about Tuesday’s results, particularly when it came to younger voters.

“While there’s a lot of work in front of us, which we’re starting today, I’m buoyed by this statistic,” he said when asked whether this week’s results foreshadow next November’s midterm elections. “Remember that young people, probably more than any group, are feeling the impacts of this terrible economy that Trump has created. There’s very– the job market is soft. There’s few opportunities for recent college graduates, most young people who are already disillusioned about their economic future are feeling even more disillusioned now, right? There are fewer opportunities. Rent is high, many of them having to move home to live with their parents, and many of them concerned about their futures and not seeing any hope on the horizon.”

Still, Republicans haven’t totally abandoned hope for maintaining congressional control in 2026. Despite the bad night, multiple veteran GOP operatives point to specific ways they can rebound.

Wadi Gaitan, communications director for the Libertarian-leaning Libre Initiative, reiterated in an interview that just because non-white voters backed Trump at historic levels for a Republican in 2024, that “does not mean they are now Republican voters.” 

“Many of these voters who voted for President Trump, who voted for Republicans on the down ballot, are actually many of them independent voters, or many of them were even Democrat voters who were tired of the Democrat Party and didn’t see the agenda of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris,” he explained, before warning Democrats that 2025’s results with minority voters won’t automatically roll over into 2026. “They’re independent groups that in every election have to be fought for. It’s not baked in for one side of the other, and I think that’s something that Republicans have to remember, and Democrats as well, right?”

Ultimately, Republicans’ greatest hurdle heading into next year will be motivating voters across all demographics to turn out when Trump’s name isn’t on the ballot. The president himself suggested this week that his absence was the top reason behind the GOP’s failings on Tuesday.

“They say that I wasn’t on the ballot was the biggest factor,” he told reporters at the White House. “But I don’t know about that, but I was honored that they said that.”

And two other senior Republican operatives, familiar with Trump’s political operation, say that the president will remain a “juggernaut” fundraiser, with one issuing assurances that the president will help the Republican committees “spend whatever’s necessary to hold on to Congress” next November. 

After reentering office in January, Trump slowed the pace at which his political team raked in the donations, but, as the seasons change, so has Trump’s mindset. The president and his team have held at least three fundraisers at Mar-a-Lago since the government shutdown launched in October, and he’ll travel back to Florida Friday evening. White House officials did not immediately say whether Trump would host more fundraisers this weekend before returning to Washington.

TENSION MOUNTS BETWEEN TRUMP’S TOP COPS AFTER MONTHS OF ‘BONEHEAD SCREWUPS’

Still, even if Republicans have plenty of cash to spend this cycle, Gaitan suggested that GOP candidates will still face the challenge of reassuring voters that the president is actually improving their economic prospects. Exit polls suggested that affordability was, by far, the top issue for voters on Tuesday, and Republicans will be forced to balance selling the president’s agenda while acknowledging inflation and other increases to the cost of living.

“Republicans, they’re going to have to do two things: They’re going to have to make what their agenda for the future is clear. What is it that they’re going to do for all Americans when it comes to the economy, when it comes to healthcare, when it comes to immigration,” he explained. “And second, apart from sharing a clear vision from the future because they are part of the governing party, they’re going to have to make it very clear on what it is that they’ve already done for Latinos and all Americans.”