Good morning, Wake Up Right fam! Last night, the Democrats ran the table in the off-year elections – from New Jersey to Virginia and New York City. Two thoughts:

Chill out: Every one of these races was in a blue state or city. They were always a long shot.

It’s time to come home: President Trump‘s first nine months have been nothing short of historic – stopping illegal immigration in its tracks, rebalancing trade, and major peace deals – but the defining issue of these latest elections was the same as the 2024 election that brought him back to power: America’s affordability crisis.

Joe Biden created the crisis, but if Donald Trump doesn’t clean it up, the American people will look elsewhere, and you will see dozens more Zoran Mamdani’s elected across the country.

In 2024, struggling voters turned to Trump’s mix of capitalist and populist economic policies for relief. But if they don't feel the benefits soon at the grocery store or when rent's due, they will look toward the false comfort of socialist price controls that Mamdani campaigned on.

Trump has the blueprint: We’ve covered his heroic efforts to use trade to bring jobs back home. We’ve covered his policies to deregulate energy production that should ripple through the economy in 2026. But the splashy, newsy actions he’s taken have mostly been abroad.

It’s time to come home. The midterms are one year away. The clock is ticking.

• 🇺🇸 Trump was re-elected exactly 1 year ago

• ✒️ 52% want Biden aides prosecuted for using autopen

• 3️⃣ On this day in 1940, FDR was elected to 3rd term

• 🗓️ Government shutdown is now longest ever, 36 days

^{Sources: n/a, JustTheNews, History, BBC}

Winners and losers

We’re not going to waste time analyzing these races. As I said in the First Word, they were all in blue cities and states. But to stay on top of things, below is a rundown of the key races and how they turned out.

New York City: Socialist Zohran Mamdani won the NYC mayoral race, capturing 50.4% of the vote. Andrew Cuomo (Independent) received 41.6% and Curtis Sliwa (Republican) grabbed 7.1%. Buckle up, New Yorkers.

New Jersey: Democrat Mikie Sherrill defeated Republican Jack Ciattarelli, 56.2% to 43.2% – a notable double-digit victory in a race projected to be much closer.

Virginia: Democrat Abigail Spanberger (57.5%) easily defeated Republican Winsome Earle-Sears (42.3%).

Pennsylvania: Three Democrat state Supreme Court justices are projected to be retained, and the court will maintain a Democrat majority.

California: Roughly 65% of Californians voted in favor of Proposition 50, which authorizes Gov. Gavin Newsom to gerrymander the state's congressional district maps, likely handing five of the state's few Republican House seats to Democrats.

[Source: CBS News]

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The walls are caving in on Comey

Former FBI Director James Comey’s bid to dismiss charges of misleading Congress just backfired – BADLY – after federal prosecutors revealed a trove of damning documents showing his misdeeds.

The details: Newly discovered files – found in FBI burn bags and a forgotten secure room by current Director Kash Patel – show Comey coordinated media leaks he later denied under oath.

• 📧 Private email trail: Prosecutors revealed Comey used a personal Gmail account to discuss press strategy with longtime associate Daniel Richman, even as he investigated Clinton’s own email practices.

• 💬 Media manipulation: In one message, Comey told Richman, “Perhaps you can make him smarter,” referencing a New York Times reporter covering the Clinton probe.

• 🙈 Clinton connection: Notes from 2016 indicate Comey was briefed on intelligence suggesting Clinton planned to “manufacture a Russia scandal” against Trump – a fact he later told Congress he didn’t recall.

Back up: In September, Comey was indicted for making a false statement and obstructing Congress.

Related: In another case of federal overreach against Donald Trump, the attorney general confirmed that Biden-era special counsel investigator Jack Smith took the "UNPRECEDENTED action" of seizing Trump’s government-issued phone and call records—an “unprecedented action.”

[Source: Just The News]

⚕️ The Trump administration is negotiating with Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk to offer $149 monthly obesity drugs via TrumpRx, with Medicare and Medicaid coverage expected to follow. Read more.

🤡 A federal judge has ruled that the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) must provide sex change procedures to a convicted pedophile who recently began identifying as transgender. Read more.

📺️ Erika Kirk said she would like the trial of her husband, Charlie Kirk's, assassin Tyler Robinson to be televised to "let everyone see what true evil is." Read more.

📻️ Radio host Charlamagne "tha God" urged Democrats to give up and end the government shutdown, lamenting: "You lost the fight." Read more.

⚽️ David Beckham was knighted by King Charles III during an emotional ceremony at Windsor Castle. Read more.

🖼️ Philadelphia Art Museum CEO Alexandra Suda wasn fired after board members raised concerns that her focus on DEI-related exhibits had been taking away from other exhibits and fundraising. Read more.

🏈 Tom Brady shared that his dog, Junie, is a clone of his late dog, Lua, a pitbull mix, who died in 2023. Read more.

🚀 The U.S. Air Force will test a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile this week as part of a routine test of the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) system. Read more.

✈️ Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that “certain parts” of the nation’s airspace will most likely be closed next week because of the government shutdown. Read more.

🎥 International soccer megastar Cristiano Ronaldo says Trump "could change the world." Watch.

🎥 Woman in cat outfit makes school board look foolish. Watch.

🎥 Elon Musk explains how his Grokipedia will crush Wikipedia. Watch.

🎥 Joe Manchin stuns Jon Stewart on why West Virginia Dems keep voting for Trump. Watch.

🎥 Rep. MTG entered the viper's nest, appearing alongside the hags on The View. Watch.

🎥 The screen at Zohran Mamdani's victory party was jacked with a "Trump is your President" banner. Watch.

🎥 Everyone should watch this short clip of Mamdani’s victory speech. Soak it in. Let it fuel you. Watch.

🎥 A UPS plane explodes on the runway in Kentucky, leaving several killed. Watch.

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