Democrats rebound in poll wins
US PRESIDENT Donald Trump has suffered a humbling triple defeat, with Democrats winning high-profile state and mayoral elections, dousing any exuberance on yesterday’s anniversary of Mr Trump’s dramatic election win.
The most damaging defeat was in Virginia, a state bordering Washington seen as a bellwether for national politics.
The Virginia governor’s race had all the makings of a nailbiter, but in the end, Lieutenant Governor Ralph Northam trounced his Republican rival Ed Gillespie by an unexpectedly wide nine percentage points.
In New Jersey, Democrat Phil Murphy reclaimed the governorship following eight years of Republican Governor Chris Christie, a one-time ally of Mr Trump.
And in New York, progressive Mayor Bill de Blasio rode a wave of hometown distaste for Mr Trump to cruise to re-election in America’s most populous city.
Mr Murphy and Mr Northam both painted their victories as emphatic rejections of the polarisation that to a large extent characterised Mr Trump’s 2016 campaign and much of his first year in the White House.