Change on Paper, Chains in Practice - November 2025 Election Results

The Morning After the Ballot

The morning after the 2025 election feels a little like waking up after a storm - the sky’s clearer, but the debris is still everywhere. Democrats swept major races across the country last night, with Zohran Mamdani’s historic win in New York City and strong showings in Virginia and New Jersey signaling that voters wanted a shift in tone.

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But make no mistake - this wasn’t the change, just a change. The same systems that criminalize poverty, overpolice survival economies, and leave marginalized workers behind are still very much intact.

“Representation without redistribution still leaves people behind.”

For sex workers and other precarious laborers, the results offer both opportunity and caution. On one hand, the renewed focus on affordability, housing, and workers’ rights could open doors for real policy conversations about safety, stability, and decriminalization. When politicians start talking about the cost of living, they’re finally inching closer to the realities that have always defined survival work.

On the other hand, we’ve seen this movie before - campaign promises that sound like liberation but deliver incremental change wrapped in bureaucracy.

These elections hint at cracks in the old guard, but they also remind us how fragile progress can be. Sex workers and marginalized workers can’t afford to wait for the next election cycle to deliver justice. The work now is to turn this moment into leverage: push new leaders to move beyond rhetoric, invest in community-led safety, fund harm reduction, and dismantle carceral “rescue” models that do more harm than good.

“The message from the ballot box wasn’t that America has changed - just that enough people are restless for something different.”

Zohran Mamdani - New York City

In a landmark win, Zohran Mamdani clinched the New York City mayoralty, becoming the city’s first Muslim mayor, first South Asian mayor, and its youngest leader in over a century. His campaign focused on affordability, rent freezes, free public transit, and tackling cost-of-living issues - all deeply relevant to precarious workers and survival economies.

For sex workers, this victory marks a potential shift. The “cost of living” conversation is now front and center in one of the world’s most expensive cities. But Mamdani inherits a city still shaped by policing, surveillance, and the criminalization of informal economies. His administration could choose to transform those systems - or simply manage them.

Movement takeaway: Now is the moment to engage. New York organizers should push early for inclusion of sex workers in policy development, advocate for the decriminalization of survival work, and demand anti-trafficking strategies that center harm reduction rather than police intervention.

Abigail Spanberger (Virginia) & Mikie Sherrill (New Jersey)

In two closely watched contests, Democrats Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill won governorships in Virginia and New Jersey. Spanberger becomes Virginia’s first female governor, while Sherrill’s victory secures Democrats a third consecutive term in New Jersey.

Both campaigned on economic stability and affordability - reflecting what voters across the country have made clear: the cost of living is crushing. For marginalized workers, this shift signals opportunity. When “economic security” dominates the conversation, advocates can expand it to include informal, precarious, and criminalized labor.

Still, these wins don’t undo decades of inequality. Virginia remains a “right-to-work” state, and New Jersey continues to price working-class families out of stability. The question now is whether these new governors will confront those structural barriers or merely acknowledge them.

California: Structural Shifts, Not Systemic Change

California voters approved Proposition 50, a constitutional amendment giving the state Legislature temporary authority to redraw congressional maps and create up to five new Democratic-leaning districts.

It’s a bold, structural move that could amplify progressive representation in Congress - and potentially the voices of workers, tenants, and advocates for decriminalization. But make no mistake: redistricting is a structural win, not a policy one. It will take sustained grassroots organizing to turn new political lines into new political possibilities.

Florida: The Work Remains Local

Florida’s story is more complicated. Republicans held key congressional seats in special elections, maintaining their grip on state power. Yet Democrats saw small, symbolic wins in Orange County, where LaVon Bracy Davis and RaShon Young’s victories signaled new local momentum.

For sex workers and other marginalized laborers, the message is clear: statewide change isn’t coming from the top down. Florida remains a stronghold of punitive laws, economic inequality, and heavy-handed policing of informal economies.

Movement takeaway: Florida’s future depends on grassroots organizing, coalition-building, and mutual aid - not electoral promises. The work will be local, relational, and led by those most directly impacted.

Change Is What Happens After

Across the country, the 2025 elections reflected a restless electorate - tired of stagnation but still unsure how far it’s willing to go for justice. Democrats gained ground, yes, but not transformative power. The structures that uphold criminalization, inequality, and surveillance remain untouched.

For sex workers and marginalized workers, that means the same truth as always: no one is coming to save us. The fight for housing, safety, and labor rights depends on us - on our organizing, our storytelling, and our refusal to disappear quietly.

“Change is not what happens at the ballot box; it’s what happens after.”

Next Steps - Building Bridges Beyond the Ballot

Even in a polarized moment, there’s room for shared progress. Republicans, independents, and Democrats alike can learn from these results if we shift the focus from partisan performance to practical solutions.

What Republicans Should Know About the New Democratic Agenda

• Cost of Living Comes First: Expect continued focus on lowering everyday costs - healthcare, housing, childcare, energy, and groceries.

• Commitment to Safety Nets: Programs like Social Security, Medicare, and the ACA remain central.

• Tax Reform: Democrats will continue pushing higher taxes on corporations and the wealthy while closing loopholes for special interests.

• Compassionate Framing: Expect policies centered on social equity and protection for vulnerable communities.

• Internal Diversity: The Democratic Party isn’t monolithic - moderate, progressive, and pragmatic leaders coexist.

  
  

How Republicans (and Everyone Else) Can Engage Productively

• Find shared interests: Focus on community-level economic issues like small business, housing, and infrastructure.

• Engage with curiosity: Ask how proposed policies impact local people, not just party bases.

• Build bipartisan momentum: Health access, addiction services, and veterans’ support are ripe for collaboration.

• Keep it practical: Focus on real-life solutions - not political point-scoring.

  
  

The 2025 elections gave us a glimpse of what’s possible - and a reminder of how fragile progress remains.

Sex workers, low-wage workers, parents, caregivers, and incarcerated people don’t have the luxury of waiting for perfect leaders. We make the change - every day, in every fight, with every act of mutual care and defiance.

The ballots are counted. Now the real work begins.