The 2025 elections are crucial to monitor as Trump seeks a return to the White House.

On January 20th, when President-elect Trump is inaugurated, the Republican Party will have complete control over the White House and both houses of Congress.

In 2025, the political spotlight will be on the new administration and GOP congressional majorities as they strive to shake up the nation's capital. However, high-profile ballot box battles across the country will also capture attention, indicating whether Trump and the Republicans' electoral momentum can continue.

For Democrats, the 2025 off-year elections can't come soon enough after suffering setbacks in the 2024 elections.

In the US, only New Jersey and Virginia hold gubernatorial elections following a presidential election, which attracts a lot of national attention due to their positions on the calendar.

Recently, the party that has won the presidency has lost the ensuing Virginia gubernatorial election, with only one exception.

In 2017, Gov. Glenn Youngkin became the first Republican in over a decade to win a gubernatorial election in Virginia, a state that has trended blue in recent years.

Since Virginia law prohibits governors from serving two consecutive four-year terms, Youngkin cannot run for re-election next year.

Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears, a Black female, is running to succeed Youngkin as the first elected Black female governor in the nation.

In a recent interview with Planet Chronicle Digital, Sears stated that his goal is not to make history, but to improve the current situation and ensure that everyone has the same opportunities he had.

Virginia's first female lieutenant governor, Sears, who immigrated to the U.S. from Jamaica at six years old and served in the Marines, is a former state lawmaker.

Abigail Spanberger, a former CIA officer and three-term Democratic representative from a conservative-leaning district, is running for governor as her party's candidate.

One of them will likely make history as the first woman to be elected governor of Virginia.

In the upcoming 2025 elections, all 100 seats in the Virginia House will be contested as Republicans strive to regain control of both houses, including the state Senate where two members who were recently elected to Congress will have special elections.

In the absence of significant electoral competition, it is likely that outside groups will invest large sums of money in Virginia's statewide and legislative races in 2025.

In the 2024 elections, Trump's support in blue-state New Jersey significantly increased at the ballot box.

In November, he lost to Vice President Kamala Harris by six points in the state, a significant improvement from his 16-point loss to President Biden in New Jersey in the 2020 presidential election.

The GOP is gaining confidence that they can capture the governor's seat in a state where Democrats hold power and have a significant edge in voter registration, thanks to Trump's campaign.

A successor to Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, who won two gubernatorial elections, is being sought by a group of Democrats and Republicans.

The gubernatorial election in New Jersey, similar to the one in Virginia, is likely to attract the focus and funding of out-of-state organizations.

The upcoming 2025 elections will decide whether Democrats retain their control over the state Supreme Courts in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

The mayoral election in the country's largest city will also be a focus in the upcoming year.

The former police captain and current Democratic mayor of New York City, Eric Adams, has been charged with federal corruption.

The possibility of numerous challengers, including former New York State Gov. Andrew Cuomo, exists in the race for a second term as mayor of New York City, despite his statement of intention to seek it.