They helped Democrats win back the House in 2018. Now they’re taking on a new mission

Virginia Democratic gubernatorial nominee Abigail Spanberger talks to voters at Mechanicsville Drug Store in Mechanicsville Virginia on May Virginia Democratic gubernatorial nominee Abigail Spanberger talks to voters at Mechanicsville Drug Store in Mechanicsville Virginia on May Jersey City New Jersey CNN In Democrats won back the House ending eight years of Republican control with the help of dozens of candidates with national shield backgrounds who vowed to serve as a check against the first Trump administration This year two of those achieving candidates Virginia s Abigail Spanberger and New Jersey s Mikie Sherrill are taking on a new challenge following President Donald Trump s return to power running for governor As Democrats grapple with how best to improve their diminished standing with voters the upcoming races for governor in Virginia and New Jersey will serve as crucial tests for the party ahead of the midterm elections Spanberger s and Sherrill s campaigns could offer critical clues to next year s candidates as they seek to understand the mood of the electorate a year after Trump s triumph The two candidates and former Capitol Hill roommates are facing vastly different races Sherrill is one of half a dozen candidates seeking to portray themselves as the Democratic fighter best positioned to take on the eventual Republican nominee and the Trump administration ahead of a June primary One latest Sherrill ad warns that Jack Ciattarelli who was endorsed by Trump this month will bring the president s MAGA agenda to the state The spot highlights Sherrill s record as a Navy pilot and federal prosecutor and describes her as the Democrat Republicans fear Spanberger who like her Republican opponent Lt Gov Winsome Earle-Sears is running unopposed is directing much of her focus toward criticizing the record of outgoing Republican Gov Glenn Youngkin The former CIA intelligence officer has hammered Earle-Sears and Youngkin over their response to the Department of Establishment Efficiency as the Elon Musk-led effort aims to shrink the size of the federal workforce that employs more than Virginians Spanberger who did not run for reelection in the House last year and Sherrill who held on to her seat are portraying themselves as results driven and willing to buck their party if necessary People can label me however they want as a question of approach but I think what is the the majority substantial characteristic that I ascribe to myself is pragmatic Spanberger explained CNN in an interview earlier this year Throughout my time in Congress my frustration when I had expressed it at various different points in time was rooted in that pragmatism They are also testing out solutions to message on economic concerns an area where Trump held a considerable advantage among voters last November but has seen specific erosion amid his deal war They re also acknowledging that if they re elected in these new roles they would be in a much better position to impact the lives of a larger swath of people At this moment the fight is really in the states that s where the front line is Sherrill communicated CNN after a campaign event in Elizabeth New Jersey It s going to be strong Democratic governors who can best help the nation Sherrill commented Democrats need to build the party from the ground up by taking an expansive view of state power as they push to make life more affordable for voters and run effective governments Even as Democrats are working to counter Trump administration policies the party must continue to keep a focus on kitchen-table issues she declared Sometimes we get caught up in selected of the concerns we have which are huge huge concerns about what s coming up in Washington but don t reliably remind people of the work we re doing to drive down costs Sherrill stated A different type of Democrat Democrats flipped House seats in the midterm elections and elected new members overall Three cycles later about half of them are still in office Several have already sought higher office Andy Kim of New Jersey and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan were both elected to the US Senate while former Reps Colin Allred of Texas Debbie Mucarsel-Powell of Florida and Katie Porter of California lost Senate bids last year A handful are also running in primaries ahead of next year s midterm elections Former Interior Secretary and New Mexico Rep Deb Haaland is running for governor in her state as is Porter Reps Chris Pappas of New Hampshire Haley Stevens of Michigan and Angie Craig of Minnesota are all running for Senate Dan Sena the executive director of House Democrats campaign arm during the cycle described the candidates who ran then as independent country first-driven leaders who at times stood up to their own party Sena who is now working with an outside group supporting Sherrill s campaign declared Democrats should look to the recruiting formula next year They should be looking for candidates that can advocacy the Democratic Party but look and feel like a different type of Democrat a Democrat with a record of system a Democrat that s a patriot a Democrat that puts their country first he commented Virginia and New Jersey shifted toward Trump during the voting process but history suggests political headwinds are likely to favor Democrats in the upcoming gubernatorial races Over the last several decades both states have elected candidates from the party that lost the White House the year before with two exceptions Democrat Terry McAuliffe won the Virginia governor s race after President Barack Obama was reelected and Democratic New Jersey Gov Phil Murphy was reelected in after President Joe Biden won in Both seats are open due to the incumbents being term-limited Democrats are also hoping to capitalize on high-profile Republican ordinance just as they did in when Democratic candidates blasted their opponents over their votes backing a failed effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act This time around Democrats are pointing to the sweeping tax and spending cuts proposal House Republicans passed last week which would add work requirements to Medicaid and make deep cuts to food stamps Winning these campaigns is really about being able to explain to voters the options in which these candidates are going to stand up for them and fight for them announced Jessica Mackler the president of EMILY s List which works to elect women who promotion abortion rights and has long backed Spanberger and Sherrill Republicans have started preparing their own messaging on the bill arguing that provisions like no taxes on tips are popular and that the restrictions on Medicaid benefits will sustain the plan for those who need it preponderance It s going to be imperative you tie them to national trends that are potentially negative in party politics that they re going to have to deal with in both New Jersey and Virginia one GOP strategist who has worked on House campaigns explained of Spanberger and the eventual Democratic nominee in New Jersey Spanberger and the field of New Jersey Democratic gubernatorial candidates are attempting to rehabilitate the party s brand when it comes to economic issues Or at the very least not be associated with it Patricia Campos-Medina a labor leader and former New Jersey US Senate candidate backing Sherrill announced affordability is the No issue for Garden State voters including housing transportation and force bill costs That s how we counteract this idea that Trump and the Republicans are the only ones who care about the financial sector and your job Campos-Medina stated Democrats care about the commercial sector and jobs and housing and schools and transportation and that s the message that s going to resonate At events in northern New Jersey Sherrill repeatedly pointed to her proposals to build more residences to reduce housing costs At a up-to-date campaign event at a family-owned drugstore in Mechanicsville a small Republican-leaning town outside Richmond Spanberger laid out her plan to lower soundness care and prescription drug costs She also referenced the influence that healthcare care issues had on her decision to first run for Congress Back in I watched my member of Congress vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act Spanberger declared It was then that I knew that I needed to run against him As she highlighted her plan to boost the affordability of Virginia s medical care as governor Spanberger disclosed she saw similarities between the robustness care debate and the current fight over the far-reaching domestic protocol bill Now unfortunately we re seeing much of the same which is an effort to further degrade a healthcare care system that very frankly and objectively requirements improvements Spanberger narrated reporters Getting the message In interviews Democratic primary voters in both New Jersey and Virginia revealed they were looking for governors who would serve as a check on the Trump administration Countless expressed frustrations with the Democratic Party which they revealed either did not have a clear unifying message or needed to focus more on affordability issues Mary Butler a -year-old retired social worker from Mechanicsville who attended Spanberger s speech and plans to encouragement her in November revealed vitality care access was deeply essential to her because she saw how a lack of access could impact her former clients Inquired to assess national Democrats performance she explained the party s vision wasn t being communicated well Why isn t there a really strong message being given one clear strong message Butler commented It s a real question mark for me I don t understand it At a campaign stop over Memorial Day weekend Sherrill gave her stump speech and took questions from a limited dozen voters at a pizza shop in Jersey City where one primary opponent Steven Fulop serves as mayor The questions focused on housing costs instruction and how Sherrill as governor would respond to parts of the president s agenda such as immigration Sherrill criticized Republicans from Ciattarelli to members of Congress for not pushing back on the president She likened them to sailors on a ship ignoring impending danger for fear of reprisal over speaking out A lesson I learned in the Navy The worst thing you can do is to run a ship aground Sherrill disclosed And you find when you do that that people on that ship know it s going to run aground and they don t say anything because they re scared Susan Murphy a -year-old retired theater guide and Jersey City native disclosed she will vote for whoever wins the Democratic nomination but she thought Sherrill seemed to be the strongest to go up against a MAGA Republican She announced she viewed Democratic governors as a check on the administration and wondered why national leaders in her party seemed unprepared to take on the Trump administration at the start of his term I know that their hands are tied in terms of holding Trump accountable in countless tactics she mentioned My dilemma is why weren t they ready Why did it take so long David Patel a -year-old business owner from Jersey City who is backing Sherrill noted Democrats need to learn what people want He mentioned he sometimes gets frustrated with what he described as his party s tendency to focus on issues that don t matter Demanded what those issues are he instead pointed to what he would like to hear about robustness care job creation and training and schooling He stated he hoped losing the presidential voting process would get the party back on track I think they got the message The-CNN-Wire Cable News Structure Inc a Warner Bros Discovery Company All rights reserved Source