In a night that had two races for governor on the line, the Democratic Party came out the winner in both. When Donald Trump's preferred candidate was defeated in Virginia, the president was quick to throw him under the bus.
Trump on Gillespie
After Donald Trump shocked the world by defeating Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton last November, the Republicans were equally as thrilled that they were able to hold on to majority control in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. As the former host of "The Apprentice" was getting sworn into office, many wondered what would happen in Washington with the GOP holding so much power.
Despite this, Trump has clashed with high-ranking Republican officials on more than one occasion, which has prevented the billionaire real estate mogul from moving forward with his agenda and delivering on some of his most popular campaign messages. While the in-fighting in the Republican Party has been and issue, Democrats have had their fair share of problems, most recently highlighted by allegations made by Donna Brazile, former chair of the Democratic National Committee, who accused Clinton and the DNC of "rigging" the primary election against Bernie Sanders. Though this has been an issue, Trump's low favorability numbers and the general disapproval of the GOP has been a positive for Democrats, which resulted in the party winning elections in New Jersey and Virginia on Tuesday night.
In Virginia, Trump pushed hard for Ed Gillespie, but Democrat Ralph Northam picked up the win, leading to a tweet from the president on November 7.
Ed Gillespie worked hard but did not embrace me or what I stand for. Don’t forget, Republicans won 4 out of 4 House seats, and with the economy doing record numbers, we will continue to win, even bigger than before!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 8, 2017
Taking to Twitter after the results of the Virginia election were announced, Donald Trump wasted no time pushing Ed Gillespie aside to pat himself on the back.
"Ed Gillespie worked hard but did not embrace me or what I stand for," Trump said, while quickly dispatching of the Republican candidate. "Don’t forget, Republicans won 4 out of 4 House seats, and with the economy doing record numbers, we will continue to win, even bigger than before!" he continued.
Breaking News: The Democrat Ralph Northam won Virginia’s election for governor, keeping the seat blue https://t.co/btOxtQUl3S
— The New York Times (@nytimes) November 8, 2017
In New Jersey, it was Democratic candidate Phil Murphy who became the projected winner over Republican Kim Guadagno, doing so in narrow fashion with a 51-49 percent victory, according to the most recent round of reporting.
Murphy launches the Democrats back in control of the state after Republican Gov. Chris Christie ended his latest term in office.
Next up
While Republicans seemed poised to dominate in Washington after the election of 2016, Donald Trump's controversial presidency and internal struggles with his own party have appeared to reflect negatively on many Americans. With the all-important mid-term elections just one year away, it will only be a matter of time before Trump and the GOP turn things around, or the Democrats continue to ride their recent momentum.