Democratic victories in Virginia and key gains in other 2017 state legislative races have lifted Democratic hopes of even bigger wins in next year's midterm elections.
A former journalist has unseated one of Virginia's most socially conservative lawmakers to become the first openly transgender member of the House of Delegates.
Democrats swept Virginia and New Jersey's governor's races, incumbents came out on top in several big-city mayoral races and voters in Maine said they wanted to join 31 other states in expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.
Voters are electing two governors, a few big-city mayors, one member of Congress and deciding a first-in-the-nation ballot measure in an election dominated by local and state races.