How Key Demographics Voted for Democrats in 2025 Elections/ Newslooks/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ The 2025 AP Voter Poll highlights key demographic trends across pivotal races. Democrats made gains among young, diverse, and female voters but face challenges with veterans and some religious groups. Results suggest evolving loyalties and fault lines within traditional voting blocs.
2025 Election Demographics Quick Looks
- Democrats gained major victories in New Jersey, Virginia, California, and New York City.
- Young voters under 30 overwhelmingly backed Democratic and progressive candidates.
- Zohran Mamdani becomes NYC’s first Muslim and youngest mayor in a century.
- Black, Asian, and Hispanic voters largely supported Democrats in NJ and VA.
- Jewish voters leaned toward Andrew Cuomo in NYC, citing concerns over Mamdani’s Israel stance.
- Young women were especially strong backers of Democrats compared to young men.
- Government workers and their households favored Democrat Abigail Spanberger in Virginia.
- Veteran households in New Jersey preferred GOP candidates, but Democrats still won key races.
Deep Look: How Key Demographics Voted for Democrats in 2025 Elections
WASHINGTON, D.C. — As Democrats celebrated key wins in Tuesday’s elections, results from the 2025 AP Voter Poll revealed a complex electoral landscape shaped by generational divides, racial diversity, gender dynamics, and religious affiliations. Conducted among more than 17,000 voters across New York City, New Jersey, Virginia, and California, the survey sheds light on how pivotal demographic groups cast their ballots — and where both major parties gained or lost ground.
Mamdani Wins Big with NYC’s Young Voters
Zohran Mamdani, a 34-year-old Democratic Socialist, made history by becoming New York City’s youngest mayor in over a century — and its first Muslim one. His overwhelming support came from voters under 30, three-quarters of whom backed him over Republican Curtis Sliwa and Independent Andrew Cuomo. While young voters made up a relatively small portion of the city’s electorate, they proved decisive in Mamdani’s victory.
His appeal to younger generations reflects broader ideological trends: nearly 40% of NYC voters under 30 identified as democratic socialists, aligning with Mamdani’s political brand akin to Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Older voters were more likely to favor Cuomo, but a notable portion still supported Mamdani. Voters for Cuomo and Sliwa skewed older overall, highlighting a growing generational divide in urban voting patterns.
Non-White Voters Propel Democrats in NJ and VA
In New Jersey and Virginia, Democrats continued to perform strongly among voters of color. Mikie Sherrill won the New Jersey governorship with robust support from Black (90%), Asian (80%), and Hispanic (66%) voters. Her opponent, Republican Jack Ciattarelli, received roughly 30% of the Hispanic vote.
These patterns suggest that while Republicans have made modest inroads with some minority groups nationally, Democrats remain dominant among non-white voters in key states.
Religious Divides Sharpen in NYC Race
Religion played a key role in New York City’s contentious mayoral race. Mamdani received the support of approximately 90% of Muslim voters, who made up about 4% of the city’s electorate. This support was pivotal in helping him become the city’s first Muslim mayor.
However, Mamdani faced skepticism from Jewish voters, with around 60% supporting Cuomo and only 30% voting for Mamdani. The rift was largely attributed to Mamdani’s vocal criticism of Israel, an issue that half of both Muslim and Jewish voters said significantly influenced their decisions.
This marks a stark religious and ideological divide within New York’s voter base — one likely to shape future Democratic coalition-building efforts in urban areas.
Young Women Drive Democratic Gains
Across all four states polled, voters under 30 showed strong support for Democratic candidates — but the gap between genders was especially significant. In New Jersey, 80% of young women backed Sherrill compared to just over half of young men. In Virginia, Spanberger received similar backing from young women, while around 60% of young men supported her.
Gender divisions persisted among older voters too, though less dramatically. Slightly more than half of women aged 65+ voted Democrat, compared to roughly 40% of men in the same age group. These patterns signal the Democratic Party’s growing reliance on young, female voters as a cornerstone of electoral strategy.
Federal Worker Households Support Spanberger
With the federal government shutdown dragging into its sixth week, many Virginians cited direct financial impact. About 20% of Virginia voters reported living in a household with a federal employee or contractor, and two-thirds of these voters supported Spanberger.
Among all voters affected by government budget cuts this year — around 60% of the Virginia electorate — most favored Spanberger, while those who were unaffected leaned toward Republican Winsome Earle-Sears. This suggests economic stress due to policy gridlock continues to shape political allegiances in government-heavy regions like Virginia.
Veteran Households Lean GOP, but Democrats Still Win
Despite her military background, Sherrill underperformed among veteran households in New Jersey, securing only 40% of that vote. Ciattarelli won about 60%, driven in part by lingering scrutiny over a scandal from Sherrill’s Naval Academy years. Nevertheless, Sherrill’s coalition of younger, diverse, and suburban voters was enough to carry her to victory.
Virginia presented a slightly different picture: 40% of voters had a military connection in their household, and Spanberger managed to split that demographic evenly. This indicates some erosion in the GOP’s historic grip on veteran voters, especially among younger service members or more urban military families.
AP Voter Poll Methodology
The 2025 AP Voter Poll was conducted by SSRS from October 22 to November 4. It includes a mix of online, telephone, and in-person responses from 17,253 voters across New Jersey (4,244), Virginia (4,215), New York City (4,304), and California (4,490). The poll was available in English and Spanish. The margin of error ranged from ±2.0 to ±2.2 percentage points across locations.
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