Have the Democrats begun to find their way back?

Shell-shocked, Democrats entered Donald Trump's second term in a political stupor - unsure of who they were or what they stood for.

- Lauren Gambino

Their base had lost faith in its ageing leadership class, and their brand, in Democrats' own words, had become "toxic": a party increasingly confined to coastal states, big cities and college towns. And even there, warning signs were flashing.

Then came last week's coast-to-coast romp in the first major elections of Trump's turbulent return to the White House that exceeded even the party's most optimistic projections.

"What a night for the Democratic party," California governor Gavin Newsom marvelled, after news networks projected the redistricting ballot measure he spearheaded had passed so decisively that some voters were still queueing to cast ballots. "A party that is in its ascendancy," he continued, "a party that's on its toes, no longer on its heels."

Abigail Spanberger, a congresswoman and former CIA agent, stormed to victory in Virginia, becoming the first woman elected governor of the state. In New Jersey, Mikie Sherrill, another congresswoman and former Navy pilot, turned what was expected to be a close race into a rout. In New York, Zohran Mamdani, the 34-year-old democratic socialist, became the city's first Muslim mayor, in a race that drew the highest turnout in decades.