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DNC chair predicts wins in key governor races as Trump agenda faces first test
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EXCLUSIVE: PHILADELPHIA, PA – Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Ken Martin is confident his party’s investment in 2025’s most consequential elections will pay off.
“I do expect that we’ll win those elections in New Jersey and Virginia,” Martin said in an exclusive national interview with Fox News Digital, pointing to the only two states holding gubernatorial contests this year. “We feel pretty bullish about our chances.”
Democrats are looking to rebound from last year’s setbacks – when the party lost control of the White House and Senate and failed to win back the House majority – with strong showings in next week’s races.
The New Jersey and Virginia contests are viewed as early tests of President Donald Trump’s agenda and as a barometer for next year’s midterm elections, when Democrats hope to win back control of Congress.
FIVE KEY RACES TO WATCH IN NEXT WEEK’S ELECTIONS
Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin addresses party members at the DNC’s summer meeting, on Aug. 25, 2025, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Paul Steinhauser – Fox News )
The DNC has dished out over $7 million – a party record – for get-out-the-vote and organizing efforts this summer and autumn in New Jersey, Virginia and Pennsylvania, where Democrats are fighting to retain three state supreme court seats.
“I’ve always taken the position that every election matters, whether it’s an on year off year, whether it’s a local election, a federal election, every inch of ground that we gain here adds up,” Martin emphasized.
Martin said that since Trump returned to the White House in January, “there’s been 45 elections on the ballot. Democrats have overperformed in all of them to the tune of about 16 percentage points on average.” While confident, he added that “we’re not taking anything for granted.”
DEMOCRATIC AND REPUBLICAN NOMINEES IN CRUCIAL GOVERNOR’S RACE TOUT SURGE IN EARLY VOTING NUMBERS
Asked what a ballot box setback would mean for Democrats, Martin said his focus is on “turning out every single vote we can over these next several days left to make sure we do win.”
He reiterated, “I do expect that we’ll win those elections in New Jersey and Virginia. We have terrific candidates who are running great campaigns.”
Martin spoke during a two-day campaign swing through Pennsylvania, ahead of return stops to boost voter turnout in New Jersey and Virginia.
Rep. Mikie Sherrill, the Democratic nominee for governor in New Jersey, greets voters at a senior center in Elizabeth, N.J., on Oct. 29, 2025. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)
In blue-leaning New Jersey, polls show a tight race between Democratic nominee Rep. Mikie Sherrill and GOP rival Jack Ciattarelli, who is vying in the race to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy.
Asked why Republicans feel bullish about their chances to capture the Garden State’s governor’s office, Martin told Politico in a recent interview that “New Jersey is the best place, probably, for Donald Trump to actually stop the Democratic momentum — or at least minimize the Democratic momentum that we’ve seen throughout this year.”
Presented with his comments, Martin said that “we expect this race to be close, and it certainly seems like it will be close.”
And he noted that “history is not on our side in the sense that we’ve never elected, at least in 50 years, a Democrat to a third term in the governorship” in New Jersey.
HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING AND ANALYSIS ON THE 2025 ELECTIONS
Still, he argued that Sherrill “is running a really strong campaign on a message that’s resonating with New Jerseyans.”
In Virginia, recent controversy in the state’s attorney general race has complicated Democrats’ efforts to hold the governor’s mansion, forcing nominee, former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, to defend against GOP attacks. Polls had shown Spanberger with a solid lead over Republican rival Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears.
Jay Jones addresses supporters after winning the Democratic nomination for Virginia Attorney General as wife Mavis Jones looks on in Norfolk, Virginia, on June 17, 2025. (Trevor Metcalfe/The Virginian-Pilot/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
The controversy centers on Democratic attorney general nominee Jay Jones, who apologized for texts sent in 2022 comparing then-House Speaker Todd Gilbert to mass murderers Adolf Hitler and Pol Pot, saying that if given two bullets, “he would use both” on the Republican lawmaker.
Republicans have demanded Jones withdraw from the race.
“Let me be very clear, I immediately condemned those vile and indefensible comments and text messages that he made and called on him to apologize,” Martin said. “He needed to apologize to Virginians, which he did.”
Asked by Fox News Digital if he should have called for Jones to step aside, Martin said, “That’s not up to me to decide. That’s up to Virginians to decide whether or not his comments were disqualifying, and they’ll make their decision in a few days.”
Martin also called Pennsylvania’s state Supreme Court retention elections in Pennsylvania “critical for our party, because what we’ve seen over many years now is attempts by billionaire donors and special interests to buy Supreme Court seats throughout the country, and it’s an attempt actually to thwart our democracy.”
“The reality is, is for us, this is a critical election for the National Democratic Party, because if they win here, if these billionaire donors are able to win these three Supreme Court races, they will certainly take this on the road and try to do this everywhere else in the country,” Martin warned.
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The Republican National Committee (RNC), asked to respond to Martin’s remarks, pointed to its fundraising edge.
“Ken Martin has turned the DNC into a debt-ridden circus run by radicals — and we sincerely hope he keeps up the great work, RNC national press secretary Kiersten Pels argued in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Regardless of what happens next Tuesday, it won’t be because of anything Ken Martin did. The DNC is broke, desperate, and wasting its last dollars trying to save face in blue states, and even then, Democrats are struggling to hold on.”
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Local News
The customer, who was evaluated for “visible lacerations to the forehead,” was punched three times while being called racial slurs, prosecutors say.
AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File
A Boston man is facing charges after he allegedly lunged at a Burger King employee, punched a customer, and then resisted arrest at a nearby MBTA station in East Boston, authorities announced Monday afternoon.
Patrick Donovan, 59, was charged July 1 with one count of assault and battery causing injury on an over 60 or disabled person, assault and battery, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, assault, and vandalism, Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden’s office said in a press release.
The charges stem from an incident shortly before 10 p.m. on June 30, when Boston police responded to a disturbance call from Burger King at 1 Maverick Square, Hayden’s office said.
A Burger King employee told officers that, after ordering his food and receiving it, Donovan yelled that he no longer wanted it and smacked a napkin holder off the counter. He then allegedly lunged at an employee and grabbed her by the arm, prosecutors said.
Donovan subsequently shoved a customer from behind and allegedly punched him in the face three times while calling him racial slurs, the DA’s office said.
Emergency medical services evaluated the customer for “visible lacerations to the forehead,” but the victim declined additional treatment, authorities said.
Donovan fled the restaurant following the assaults, and officers tracked him to the nearby MBTA Maverick Station, prosecutors said.
“While officers tried to detain Donovan inside the station, he swung at them with a closed fist but did not make contact,” Hayden’s office said, noting that Donovan made racial slurs towards the officers. “Donovan was placed into custody after a brief struggle.”
During his arraignment in the East Boston division of the Boston Municipal Court, Donovan pleaded not guilty and was released on personal recognizance. Court records show he was also ordered to stay away from Maverick Square and Burger King.
He is scheduled to return to court Aug. 7 for a pre-trial hearing, prosecutors said.
Officers obtained security footage of both assaults. Authorities said the incident remains under investigation and could result in further charges.
“Our workers deserve to be safe in their workplaces and our consumers deserve to be safe in their shopping or dining places, without exception,” Hayden said in a statement. “Beyond that, none of our citizens or first responders should be subjected to racial slurs. These appalling words have no place in Suffolk County or anywhere else in our society.”
Attorney information for Donovan was not immediately available Monday afternoon.
Pittsburg, PA
Pittsburgh files lawsuit against fire truck companies over alleged anticompetitive schemes
The city of Pittsburgh filed an antitrust lawsuit against several fire truck manufacturers and related companies on Monday, saying they engaged in anti-competitive schemes in an effort to consolidate and monopolize fire trucks and parts markets.
A hit HBO documentary series is looking to Connecticut for stories to feature in its second season.
The show “Neighbors” follows on-going neighbor disputes across the country. The goal of the show is to help neighbors reach a resolution, according to the show’s casting director and executive producer Harleigh Shaw.
“Each story we explore, we spend extensive time with neighbors on both sides to really understand the full context beyond the disputes,” Shaw said.
Producers wanted to share stories in the second season that were based in states that weren’t featured earlier this year in the first season, including Connecticut, Shaw said.
“A lot of the things that we’re most interested in are things that may seem small, but become a bigger issue between the neighbors,” Shaw said. “Anything from disagreements over gardening practices to property lines to noise to dock issues, if it’s a waterfront property. A whole myriad of things. We’re really open to anything.”
However, the show does avoid situations that are violent or dangerous.
Residents from Connecticut looking to participate should be open to third party conflict resolution, according to Shaw.
“Some of the ways that we did that were through mediation,” Shaw said. “That’s a huge one. But there are other things in terms of resources we’d be open to help the neighbors to like help work through the issues.”
Filming will take place throughout the summer and is expected to be completed by the end of September.
The show’s production team is located in New York City and Los Angeles.
“Connecticut has always been really interesting because it’s just a short trip away, and we’re just curious to explore the types of neighbor dynamics that are going on there,” Shaw said.
Connecticut residents who are interested in being on “Neighbors,” can apply at helloneighbortv.com and are encouraged to submit information about themselves as well as their neighbor dispute.
“The neighbor disputes are the entry point for this show, but we’re always also just very interested in inspiring amazing people doing cool stuff,” Shaw said.
“Neighbors” premiered in February and was quickly renewed. The show averages about 3 million viewers per episode.
The show features stories that make viewers laugh and cringe, according to HBO Programming’s Executive Vice President Nina Rosenstein.
“At a time when even the smallest disagreements can spiral out of control, ‘Neighbors’ feels both hilariously absurd and surprisingly relatable,” Rosenstein said. “What makes the show special isn’t just the stories and people they find, but the empathy and humanity they bring to each episode.”
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