This year's elections offered early signs of what to expect in next year's midterms.
After much of the country shifted rightward last year, Democrats got a much-needed shot in the arm with a string of impressive victories. The elections have also underscored some of President Trump's weaknesses as his party looks to hold onto both chambers of Congress next year.
Still, it remains to be seen whether Democrats can maintain that momentum in 2026, especially as the party grapples with its own divisions.
As 2025 comes to a close, here are five takeaways from this year's elections:
Democrats find their momentum
Democrats entered the year battered by devastating losses in the 2024 election, but a string of recent off-year victories have reenergized the party.
Democrats did well up and down the ballot this year, winning by big margins in marquee governors' races in Virginia and New Jersey, as well as the closely watched mayoral race in New York City.
They also scored a number of surprise upsets in smaller but significant contests around the country. The party flipped two seats in Georgia's Public Service Commission, which could bode well for them in next year's Senate and gubernatorial races in the Peach State. They also won the Miami mayor's office for the first time in decades and notched a redistricting win when California voters approved a plan to draw new, Democrat-friendly congressional maps in the state.
The series of wins, coupled with problematic poll numbers for President Trump and Republicans, have spooked the GOP and already inspired Democrats to expand their target list for House and state legislative seats next year.
Many in the party are already hoping for another "blue wave" similar to 2018 -- though they acknowledge the midterms will still be a fight.
Economy sends warning signs for GOP
The economy was the top issue for voters throughout the 2025 elections, serving as a warning sign for Trump and the GOP ahead of the midterms.
Democrats' most high-profile 2025 winners put affordability and economic concerns at the center of their campaigns, while the president is logging some of his lowest-ever economic approval ratings, recent polls show.
Amid steep tariffs, high prices and cost-of-living issues, some in the president's own party have also raised concerns about his approach to the issue of affordability, which he's dismissed in recent weeks as a Democratic "con job."
Though Trump has said he'd give the economy an "A-plus-plus-plus-plus" mark, polls suggest many Americans give him a failing grade and think he's losing the battle against inflation. And though the president has cast blame on his predecessor, other polling has shown most Americans think Trump is more responsible than the last administration for the current economy.
"Democrats are counting on blaming Republicans as a party-unifying theme," GOP strategist Ron Bonjean said. "That's why we must offer and pursue new ideas on how we are going to continue to tackle challenges with rising costs in order to win over voters next year."
Redistricting is major wild card
A tense redistricting war gripped states across the country this year as both parties seek to improve their odds of winning control of Congress.
A Trump-backed plan for GOP-friendly redistricting in Texas kickstarted a high-profile standoff: state Democratic legislators fled Texas to stall the process, and Democrats in other states started eyeing ways to offset the would-be Republican gains.
In response to the Texas push, California voters overwhelmingly passed Proposition 50, a ballot measure that aims to effectively nullify the changes in Texas by creating five congressional pickup opportunities that will hold until the next Census.
Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio and Utah also got new House maps this year. And more states could be added to the list next year: Florida, Indiana and Virginia are among those looking at redistricting.
Democrats are also bracing for the Supreme Court to weigh in next year on a case around Louisiana's congressional map that could decide the fate of the Voting Rights Act. If the high court guts a section of the VRA that limits racial discrimination in voting, it could give several Republican states in the South the green light to redraw their congressional lines ahead of the midterms.
In a midterm election that could come down to just a handful of seats, the national redistricting war shows no signs of slowing down and has thrown a wild card into parties' calculus for winning Congress next fall.
Democrats are still divided
Moderate Democrats won big in New Jersey and Virginia's off-year gubernatorial elections this fall, while progressives scored a major win in New York City's mayoral race.
Though the successes have stoked Democratic enthusiasm for next year's midterm races, they also underscore enduring differences within a party that's still searching for its next standard-bearer and trying to win over voters amid low favorability numbers.
Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani's win in NYC gave the left a jolt of excitement, but the center-left think tank Third Way warned that, while Democrats can learn from his campaign tactics, Mamdani's policies are "politically toxic" in the red and purple areas Democrats need to win next year.
One new Emerson College Polling survey also found voters preferred moderate candidates over both progressive and MAGA contenders in a hypothetical presidential race.
"Don't fall into the trap the Republicans are trying to set, that's to say that Mamdani is the face of the Democratic Party," Democratic strategist Fred Hicks cautioned his party. "I really think we need to let Democratic candidates reflect their communities. Do not try to nationalize the campaign beyond the affordability and personal economy message."
Meanwhile, party leaders are doing what they can to keep focus on the party's future. The DNC this week decided against releasing its report on the 2024 election, arguing that a public postmortem would be a distraction from the mission of winning next November. But that decision drew criticism from other Democrats -- underscoring the lingering frustrations from the 2024 election.
2028 primary is already underway
Though the spotlight is on the midterms as 2025 comes to a close, a shadow primary for the 2028 presidential race is already underway.
Leading Democrats are asserting themselves on the national stage, from visits in key early voting states to cross-country book tours, as they eye potential bids to become the party's next standard-bearer.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has emerged as an early frontrunner, alongside a number of his fellow Democratic governors. So has former Vice President Harris, who hasn't ruled out mounting a third bid for the White House.
On the GOP side, Vice President Vance is widely viewed as an heir apparent to Trump, who has said the Constitution is "pretty clear" that he could not seek a third term, despite rumors that he was considering the possibility.
But growing fissures in the MAGA base raise questions about who might take the reins of the president's movement in 2028. A little less than three years out, the next presidential election could be anyone's game.