14 dead in more strikes against alleged drug boats, Hegseth says

(WASHINGTON) — High-profile races are unfolding across the country on Tuesday, including New York City’s mayoral election and governor’s races in New Jersey and Virginia.

In California, voters will consider a ballot measure that puts forth a redrawn congressional map that could net Democrats five House seats.

The elections come with high-stakes for both Democrats and Republicans, and will provide a picture of how Americans feel about President Donald Trump’s first nine months in office.

Here’s how the news is developing.

Obama on Democratic wins: ‘Future looks a little bit brighter’

Former President Barack Obama reacted to the flurry of Democratic wins on Tuesday, saying on X, “It’s a reminder that when we come together around strong, forward-looking leaders who care about the issues that matter, we can win. We’ve still got plenty of work to do, but the future looks a little bit brighter.”

-ABC News’ Brittany Shepherd

House Speaker Mike Johnson slams Mamdani after win

House Speaker Mike Johnson put out a statement criticizing Mamdani and the Democrats after his historic win.

Johnson said Mamdani’s win “cements” the Democratic Party’s “transformation to a radical, big-government socialist party.”

“Now, every House Democrat incumbent and candidate will co-own Mamdani’s disastrous record in the 2026 midterms,” he added.

-ABC News’ Lauren Peller

Mamdani posts video after winning mayoral election

Mamdani posted a short video on Bluesky after several outlets projected he would win the New York City mayoral election.

The video showed a subway door opening at the City Hall stop, with an announcement saying, “The next stop is City Hall.”

Sherrill: ‘I promise to listen, lead with courage and never forget who I serve’

As of 9:30 p.m. with 63% of the expected vote reporting, Democrat Mikie Sherrill is projected to win the New Jersey gubernatorial election against Republican Jack Ciattarelli, currently holding a more than 14-point lead (57% to 42.4%).

“New Jersey, it is the honor of my life to earn your trust to become this great state’s 57th Governor,” Sherrill said, celebrating her victory. “I promise to listen, lead with courage, and never forget who I serve.”

The former Navy pilot makes history as the first Democratic female governor of New Jersey. Former Republican Gov. Christine Todd Whitman, who served two terms from 1994 to 2001, was the state’s first female governor.

Sherrill’s victory breaks a notable trend in the state, as no party has controlled the New Jersey governor’s seat for three consecutive terms since the 1960s. Her Democratic governorship will immediately succeed current Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy’s back-to-back terms.

Tuesday’s results mark Ciattarelli’s third unsuccessful bid for governor. The former state assemblyman set his sights on the governor’s mansion in 2017, but failed to secure the Republican primary. He made it to the general election in 2021, but lost to Murphy by just 3 points.

Sherrill consistently led Ciattarelli in the polls throughout the course of the campaign, though their distance narrowed slightly in the days leading up to the election.

Ciattarelli’s loss comes as Republicans have tightened their margins in New Jersey in recent years, with Trump losing the state by just 6 points in 2024, compared to 16 points in 2020.

-ABC News’ Emily Chang

ABC News projects Zohran Mamdani wins NYC mayoral election

ABC News projects Democrat Zohran Mamdani will win the New York City mayoral election.

He is set to be the first the city’s Muslim mayor of south Asian descent.

ABC News projects Sherrill will win NJ governor race

ABC News projects Democrat Mikie Sherrill will win the New Jersey governor’s race against Republican Jack Ciattarelli, based on an analysis of the vote.

Ghazala Hashmi the first Muslim woman to win statewide office in US history

Democrat Ghazala Hashmi is the first Muslim woman to win statewide office in U.S. history.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) highlighted the historic moment.

“We hope this historic moment will inspire American Muslims to continue pursuing public service in Virginia and across the country,” the organization said in a statement.

-ABC News’ Brittany Shepherd

Trump adviser implies that Winsome Earle-Sears was a bad candidate

Following Spanberger’s victory in Virginia, Trump’s political adviser and 2024 co-campaign manager, Chris LaCivita, seemed to imply that Republican gubernatorial nominee Winsome Earle-Sears was a bad candidate.

“A Bad candidate and Bad campaign have consequences – the Virginia Governor’s race is example number 1,” LaCivita posted on X.

LaCivita’s post comes after a tele-rally Monday night for Virginia’s Republican candidates, during which Trump did not mention Earle-Sears by name.

-ABC News’ Hannah Demissie

Sherrill continues to lead with 41% of the expected vote in

As of 9:01 p.m., with 41% of the expected vote in, Democrat Mikie Sherrill continues to lead against Republican Jack Ciattarelli by just over 14 points (56.7% to 42.4%) in the New Jersey governor’s race.

This comes after a judge ruled for a one-hour extension of some Passaic County polling centers due to unfounded bomb threats earlier Tuesday. As of 9 p.m., all New Jersey polls are now closed.

Spanberger on historic projected victory

While surrounded by her daughters during her victory speech, Abigail Spanberger remarked on the historic nature of her projected win in Virginia.

She said ahead of her speech that her husband said to their daughters, “Your mom’s going to be the governor of Virginia.”

“I can guarantee those words have never been spoken in Virginia ever before,” she said.

“It’s a big deal that the girls and the young women I have met along the campaign trail now know with certainty that they can achieve anything,” she continued.

Polls close in New York City

Polls are now closed in New York City, where the mayoral race has garnered national attention.

NYC turnout surpasses 56-year record

With 15 minutes left until polls close, over 2 million New York City voters cast a ballot for this year’s race, according to the city’s Board of Elections.

This surpasses the 1.9 million votes cast in 1993 and 1989. The last time the tally surpassed 2 million votes was in 1969, according to the BOE.

Majority of independent voters, women backed Sherrill: Exit poll

A preliminary exit poll analysis by ABC News shed more light on the turnout in the New Jersey governor’s race.

Over half of independents support Democrat Mikie Sherrill and she had the support of roughly 6 in 10 New Jersey female voters, according to preliminary exit poll data.

Roughly half of male voters in the state supported Republican Jack Ciatterelli, the preliminary analysis found.

A majority of New Jersey voters under 45 supported Sherrill according to early exit polling, while those 45 and older roughly split their votes roughly evenly between the Democratic and Republican candidates for governor, according to the data.

-ABC News’ Emily Guskin

‘Tonight we sent a message’: Spanberger

During her victory speech in the Virginia governor’s race, Abigail Spanberger told the cheering crowd, “Tonight we sent a message.”

The message to Virginia, the country and the world, she said, is that Virginia “chose pragmatism over partisanship.”

“We chose our commonwealth over chaos,” she said. “You all chose leadership that will focus relentlessly on what matters most — lowering costs, keeping our communities safe and strengthening our economy for every Virginian.”

She said she intends to serve all Virginians.

“I have worked with anyone and everyone, regardless of political party, to deliver results for the people that I serve, and that’s because I believe in this idea that there is so much more that unites us as Virginians and as Americans than divides us,” she said.

Voting extended in NJ county after unfounded bomb threats

Polls will remain open in parts of Passaic County, New Jersey, after unfounded bomb threats earlier in the day halted voting at locations across the northern part of the state, a judge ruled late Tuesday.

Voters will be allowed to cast their ballots until 9 p.m. ET at three schools in the Paterson area of Passaic County, which has been a swing county in recent cycles.

-ABC News’ Jared Kofsky, Olivia Rubin and Lucien Bruggeman

Polls close in New Jersey

Polls are now closed in New Jersey, one of only two states holding gubernatorial races this November. The race tightened in the run-up to Election Day.

ABC News projects Spanberger will win Virginia governor’s race

ABC News projects Democrat Abigail Spanberger will win the Virginia governor’s race, based on an analysis of the vote.

Polls now closed in Virginia

Polls are now closed in Virginia, where there is a closely watched governor’s race.

New Jersey voters focused on taxes and economy: Exit polls

Taxes and the economy are the most important issues for New Jersey voters, according to a preliminary exit poll analysis by ABC News.

Most New Jersey voters said the economy in the state was doing “not so good” or “poor,” and that property taxes were “a major problem” where they live, according to the analysis.

Most New Jersey voters also said electricity costs where they live are “a major problem,” according to the analysis.

-ABC News’ Emily Guskin

Kentucky election official informs state voters there is no election this year following complaints

Election officials in Kentucky felt compelled to address a surprising complaint from some constituents on Tuesday: Why are polling places closed?

The answer? There aren’t any elections in Kentucky.

That didn’t keep some voters in the state from flocking to polling places, only to be disappointed to learn that they could not vote for high-profile races in Virginia and New York, according to Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams.

“We’re getting calls about polls being closed. They are closed because we do not have elections today,” he wrote on X. “Kentucky votes next year. You cannot vote today in Kentucky for the mayor of New York City or the Governor of Virginia. Sorry.”

-ABC News’ Lucien Bruggeman

NYC voters are concerned about the cost of living: Exit poll

More than half of voters in New York City said Tuesday that the cost of living was the most important issue facing the city, dwarfing the other issues measured in preliminary ABC News exit polling.

-ABC News’ Emily Guskin

Schumer refuses to say who he voted for in NYC mayoral election

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer dodged a question by a reporter who asked if he voted for Mamdani or Cuomo in the election.

“Look I voted, and I Iook forward to working with the next mayor to help New York City,” he said before taking another question.

Schumer has not publicly supported Mamdani since he won the Democratic primary in June.

-ABC News’ Lauren Peller

NYC 2025 vote surpasses 20-year high, with hours to go until polls close

As of 3 p.m. ET, roughly 1.4 million New York voters have cast a ballot in this year’s elections, with six hours before polls close marking the highest turnout for a city election in 20 years, the city’s Board of Elections said.

Roughly 1.1 million voters cast a ballot in the 2021 election, according to city BOE data.

The last time a city election vote exceeded 1.3 million was in 2005, when Michael Bloomberg was re-elected to a second term, according to BOE records.

Of the 1.4 million cast so far in 2025, 716,625 votes, about 49%, were cast on Tuesday, while the remaining were cast at early voting polling sites.

NYC 2025 vote surpasses 2021 total, halfway through the day

As of 3 p.m. ET, roughly 1.4 million New York voters have cast a ballot in this year’s elections, with six hours before polls close, the city’s Board of Elections said.

Roughly 1.1 million voters cast a ballot in the 2021 election, according to city BOE data.

Of the 1.4 million cast so far in 2025, 716,625 votes, about 49%, were cast on Tuesday, while the remaining were cast at early voting polling sites.

‘Another baseless claim,’ California officials dismiss Trump

The California secretary of state slammed President Donald Trump over his unfounded claims about the state’s election.

Secretary of State Shirley Weber said in a statement that Trump’s comments appeared to be “another baseless claim”– and urged voters to head to the polls.

“California voters will not be deceived by someone who consistently makes desperate, unsubstantiated attempts to dissuade Americans from participating in our democracy,” she said.

Additionally, a spokesperson for the state’s attorney general said that Trump is “continuing to spread lies,” adding that elections in California are “fair, safe, and secure.”

-ABC News’ Olivia Rubin

Trump says California redistricting vote is under ‘criminal review’

After President Donald Trump wrote in a social media post that California’s Proposition 50 should be under “very serious legal and criminal review,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the White House is “looking into” providing “executive action.”

“The White House is working on an executive order to strengthen our elections in this country, and to ensure that there cannot be blatant fraud, as we’ve seen in California with their universal mail-in voting system. It’s absolutely true that there’s fraud in California elections. It’s just a fact,” Leavitt told reporters on Tuesday.

Leavitt’s comments come after Trump laid into the proposal — where Californians are deciding if the state will adopt a new Democratic-friendly congressional map in response to mid-decade redistricting in Texas — calling it a “GIANT SCAM.”

“The Unconstitutional Redistricting Vote in California is a GIANT SCAM in that the entire process, in particular the Voting itself, is RIGGED. All ‘Mail-In’ Ballots, where the Republicans in that State are ‘Shut Out,’ is under very serious legal and criminal review. STAY TUNED!” Trump wrote in a social media post on Tuesday.

2 hours and 49 minutes ago

Trump has made his thoughts on NYC mayoral election ‘quite clear,’ White House says
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that President Donald Trump has made his thoughts on the New York City mayoral election “quite clear.”

“The president is a New Yorker, and he loves New York. He has made his thoughts on this election quite clear,” Leavitt said.

Leavitt also addressed Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani’s comments accusing the Trump administration of attempting to “intimidate voters with baseless allegations of voter fraud,” saying his comments are “based on zero evidence.”

“I think this is just another example of how the Democratic Party unfortunately stands for nothing. All they stand against is President Donald Trump, and I think it’s quite sad to see that we have someone at the top of the ticket on election day today saying such things about the president, when he obviously had nothing to do with those threats,” Leavitt said on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, Mamdani addressed reports of voter intimidation in New Jersey, saying these incident are “incredibly concerning.”

“I think that it is an illustration of the attacks we’re seeing in our democracy,” he continued, accusing the Trump administration of adopting a “general approach” of attempting to “intimidate voters with baseless allegations of voter fraud as a means of trying to repress the voice of Americans across this country,” Mamdani said.

Trump endorsed Cuomo on Monday in a social media post. “Whether you personally like Andrew Cuomo or not, you really have no choice. You must vote for him, and hope he does a fantastic job,” Trump wrote.

3 hours and 50 minutes ago

Trump and Newsom square off on Prop 50

President Donald Trump and California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom are sparring over the vote on Proposition 50, the ballot proposition where Californians are deciding if the state will adopt a new Democratic-friendly congressional map in response to mid-decade redistricting in Texas.

On social media, Trump laid into the proposal as a “GIANT SCAM” and that voting process itself is “rigged.”

“The Unconstitutional Redistricting Vote in California is a GIANT SCAM in that the entire process, in particular the Voting itself, is RIGGED. All ‘Mail-In’ Ballots, where the Republicans in that State are ‘Shut Out,’ is under very serious legal and criminal review. STAY TUNED!” Trump wrote.

Newsom hit back on X: “The ramblings of an old man that knows he’s about to LOSE.”

Democrats feel particularly bullish about their chances in California tonight.

-ABC News’ Brittany Shepherd

3 hours and 58 minutes ago

GOP groups attack Mamdani, attempt to link him to broader Democratic Party

As voters head to the polls, various Republican groups have released statements and memos attacking New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani, as the Republican Party continues to tie the self-described democratic socialist to the broader Democratic Party as a way to paint Democrats as radical and out of touch.

The messaging, while not new, reflects how the Republican Party hopes to use Mamdani as an albatross against Democrats.

The National Republican Congressional Committee, in a memo released on Tuesday morning framing Republicans as having more momentum one year out to the 2026 midterms, claimed that Democrats are fully on board with “the socialist agenda.”

“Democrats are now fully embracing the socialist agenda, with Hakeem Jeffries endorsing radical socialist Zohran Mamdani just last week,” the committee wrote, calling this “electoral poison for Democrats” because Democrats view socialism more negatively than capitalism.

Additionally, the National Republican Senatorial Committee — the campaign arm of Senate Republicans — sent out a flurry of at least seven memos early Tuesday tying Democratic primary candidates in key Senate races to Mamdani.

In a press release on Monday, the Republican National Convention grouped Mamdani with the two Democratic gubernatorial candidates in New Jersey and Virginia, saying they “are all cut from the same far-left cloth.”

-ABC News’ Oren Oppenheim, Brittany Shepherd and Emily Chang

12:05 PM EST

Cuomo says Trump ‘does not support me’ but ‘opposes Zohran Mamdani’

While casting his vote for himself on Tuesday morning, independent candidate for mayor of New York City and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo said President Donald Trump does not support him but “opposes Zohran Mamdani.”

“The president does not support me. The president opposes Zohran Mamdani,” Cuomo said when asked if he accepts Trump’s recent endorsement.

Cuomo was also asked what’s at stake nationally in this election, to which he told reporters, “I think what you’re seeing is a civil war in the Democratic Party that has been growing for a while.”

The former governor said Trump believes Mamdani is an “existential threat” and that the “momentum is on our side.”

-ABC News’ Halle Troadec

11:27 AM EST

Vance urges support for New Jersey GOP gubernatorial candidate Ciattarelli as race tightens

Vice President JD Vance urged voters in New Jersey to cast their vote for Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli, as the race tightens between Ciattarelli and the Democrats’ pick, former Navy helicopter pilot Mikie Sherrill.

“Get out there and vote for Jack if you live in NJ. New Jersey is such a great state but it’s suffered too long under crap leadership,” Vance wrote on Tuesday.

According to a Quinnipiac poll, Ciattarelli is lagging Sherill only by single digits in the race, with Sherill leading Ciatttarelli by 8 points in the full ballot matchup.

Former President Barack Obama has previously endorsed Sherill, saying her “integrity, grit and commitment to service are what we need right now in our leaders.”

In addition to being backed by Vance, Ciattarelli also boasts the support of President Donald Trump.

-ABC News’ Hannah Demissie

11:10 AM EST

Implications of NYC’s mayoral race stretch beyond the Big Apple

While New Yorkers are focused on solving key issues of affordability and public safety, the implications of the mayoral race could stretch beyond the five boroughs.

This local off-year election has garnered national attention and is considered representative of political headwinds ahead of the 2026 midterms. Candidates are zeroed in on navigating the impacts of President Donald Trump’s second term, and Zohran Mamdani’s candidacy has shed light on how the Democratic Party has struggled to balance its progressive and moderate sides.

-ABC News’ Emily Chang

10:49 AM EST

Cuomo votes, calls Trump ‘pragmatic’ for encouraging Republicans to back him

Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who appeared to cast his ballot at a polling place on the East Side of Manhattan on Tuesday morning, called President Donald Trump “pragmatic” for encouraging Republican voters to support him in the New York City mayoral election, instead of the GOP nominee, Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa, to blunt a victory for Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani.

“President Trump is pragmatic. He is telling them the reality of the situation, which is, if you do not vote, Mamdani is going to win. Who is Mamdani? I don’t know, but he’s a Democratic socialist that brings socialism to New York City. New York City will not thrive with a socialist economy,” Cuomo, who is running as an independent, said on Fox News on Tuesday. “So Republicans, you have to get up and come out and vote. Even if you’re not voting for a Republican, you’re voting to save New York City.”

Cuomo went on to say that Mamdani’s campaign promises to lower costs and expand government resources — by freezing the rent temporarily on rent stabilized units, providing government-run grocery stores and free city busses — is “all BS.”

“It’s not up to the mayor. It’s up to the state. State said they’re not going to do it. It’s all BS, it’s all campaign rhetoric. None of it will change anybody’s life,” Cuomo argued.

-ABC News’ Brittany Shepherd

10:37 AM EST

Mikie Sherrill says there’s ‘no credible’ threats to New Jersey voting

Accompanied by her husband and children, New Jersey’s Democratic nominee for governor Mikie Sherrill appeared at a Montclair voting center to cast her ballot and address the press.

Sherrill sought to assure voters that it is currently safe to cast ballots throughout the state, after multiple polling places temporarily closed in northern New Jersey after precincts fielded emailed bomb threats later deemed to be not credible, prompting election officials to direct some voters to other polling places.

“We’ve checked out all the bomb threats. There are no credible ones yet. Law enforcement is working overtime to keep our elections safe, so I don’t see any threat to voting,” Sherrill said. She called the scare an “attempt to suppress the vote.”

-ABC News’ Emily Chang and Lucien Bruggeman

10:24 AM EST

Mamdani casts his ballot: ‘We are on the brink of making history’

Just moments after casting his ballot on the morning of Election Day, New York City mayoral Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani proudly branded an “I voted” sticker and emphasized his vision to “usher in a new era in this city.”

“Today is Election Day. It is a day that we have been dreaming of for more than a year,” he began. “We are on the brink of making history in our city, on the brink of saying goodbye to a politics of the past.”

Mamdani emphasized his platform centered on affordability, touting his plan to “transform the most expensive city of the United States of America into one that’s affordable for each and every person that calls it home.”

Asked by ABC News’ Aaron Katersky on what he would say to New Yorkers concerned that President Donald Trump will follow through on his threats, Mamdani reiterated his resolve to stand up to Trump and argued that the president’s words sometimes hold no weight.

“I look forward to representing those New Yorkers, and look forward to fighting for every single dollar this city is owed. What we see in the language of Donald Trump is a premise, as if it is his decision on whether or not to fund the city the very money that this city is owed … That means using the courts, that means using the bully pulpit, that means ensuring that we actually follow the letter of the law,” he said.

Mamdani is facing off against former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat who is running as an independent, and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa, along with some other independent and third-party candidates.

-ABC News’ Emily Chang

10:13 AM EST

Voters head to polls in 1st major elections of Trump 2.0

It’s Election Day in America, and voters across the country are heading to the polls in statewide and local elections.

It’s the first major election cycle since President Donald Trump’s return to the White House. The results from Tuesday’s races will give voters an opportunity to weigh in on the state of the country and their communities.

Trump joined election eve tele-rallies supporting Republican candidates in Virginia and New Jersey, where he focused on energy costs and crime. He also threw out an eleventh-hour endorsement in New York City’s mayoral election, urging voters to support Andrew Cuomo over Zohran Mamdani.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — Winsome Earle-Sears faces strong headwinds in her campaign to be Virginia’s next Republican governor.

She’s been outpaced in fundraising and lags in polling behind her Democratic rival, Rep. Abigail Spanberger. And the support from one voice that could narrow this race is largely absent. 

President Donald Trump has yet to endorse Earle-Sears, Virginia’s current lieutenant governor. While slamming Spanberger during an event in Virginia for the U.S. Navy’s 250th anniversary over the weekend, Trump did not mention Earle-Sears, a Marine Corps veteran, at all. 

Earle-Sears and Trump’s relationship turned tepid in 2022 after the lieutenant governor suggested it was time for the Republican Party to “move on” past him and declined to support his third White House bid.

“A true leader understands when they have become a liability. A true leader understands that it’s time to step off the stage. And the voters have given us that very clear message,” Earle-Sears said at the time.

Trump then undercut Earle-Sears on Truth Social, writing that he “never felt good” about her, and that she was a “phony.” 

ABC News has reached out to The White House, Earle-Sears’ campaign and the Virginia GOP for comment. 

Attorney general’s race

And now, as Republicans are at high risk of losing control of Virginia’s governor’s mansion, their chief executive and others in the administration are nowhere to be found on the campaign trail for Earle-Sears.

Yet they’re not completely withdrawn from Virginia politics. 

Both Trump and Vice President JD Vance have joined the chorus of Republican voices calling for the resignation of Democratic attorney general candidate and former Virginia delegate Jay Jones after text messages to then-fellow Virginia delegate Carrie Coyner surfaced detailing a hypothetical situation about then-Speaker of the House Todd Gilbert getting “two bullets to the head.” 

The National Review reported Jones also wished for Gilbert’s wife to “watch her own child die in her arms so that Gilbert might reconsider his political views.” 

Coyner, a Republican, claimed in a note sent to her constituents this week and obtained by ABC that Jones meant to text someone else initially, but was OK with chatting when he realized it was her. She says once she expressed “alarm” about the messages, Jones “continued to try to justify his initial statements by phone and by text.”

Jones has apologized for the messages, telling WRIC that he “sincerely and from the bottom of my heart, want to express my remorse and my regret for what happened and what I said that language has no place in our discourse, and I am so remorseful for what happened.”

In a statement to ABC News, Coyner also alleged that in a separate phone call in 2020 during a conversation about police qualified immunity, Jones suggested that the death of a few officers might result in fewer police-inflicted killings. 

“During the debate on repealing qualified immunity for law enforcement in Virginia, legislation Jay Jones supported, I stated that I believed that removing qualified immunity would make officers hesitate when making split second decisions, which would lead people and police officers to get killed. Jay stated that if a few police officers died maybe they would move on and stop killing people. His statements were and still are disqualifying, people should not have to die to prove Jay Jones’ talking points,” Coyner said to ABC. 

Jones denied those remarks in a statement to ABC: “I have never believed and do not believe that any harm should come to law enforcement, period.”

Vance, on X, claimed Jones was “fantasizing about murdering his political opponents” and Trump labeled Jones as a “radial left lunatic” while offering his endorsement of Jason Miyares, Jones’ Republican opponent. 

On this issue, the White House and Earle-Sears align — she’s also called for Jones to drop out, and has even cut an ad featuring screenshots of the aforementioned texts. Earle-Sears and Virginia Republicans are attempting to link this scandal to Spanberger, who say her recent advice on the campaign trail to “let your rage fuel you” as motivation to resist against Republicans is incendiary.

Spanberger has not called for Jones to step aside, yet said in a statement that she feels “disgust” for his language and condemned violent language in politics.

Still,  Earle-Sears  has less than a month to use this scandal as momentum and inch closer to Spanberger — with or without White House aid. 

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley, the commander at the center of the controversial Sept. 2 strikes on an alleged drug-running boat in the Caribbean Sea, has served for decades as a Navy SEAL officer while rising through the ranks to lead all U.S. special operators globally.

Bradley will brief lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Thursday in a bipartisan inquiry into the incident, in which two survivors from a first strike were later seen climbing back into the boat, a source familiar with the incident told ABC News.

The source said the pair of survivors were later killed in a second strike because they were deemed to “still be in the fight” because they were in communications with other vessels nearby and were gathering some of the cargo of drugs the boat had been carrying.

The White House and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have said it was Bradley’s call to order the second strike.

The initial attack was overseen by Hegseth himself, who told reporters at the White House on Tuesday that he watched the first strike unfold before leaving for meetings. He said he did not see any survivors or any further strikes that followed.

“Admiral Bradley made the correct decision to ultimately sink the boat and eliminate the threat,” Hegseth said.

“He sunk the boat, sunk the boat, and eliminated the threat. And it was the right call. We have his back,” he said.

At the time of the attack, Bradley was the three-star admiral in command of the Joint Special Operations Command that oversees the most sensitive special operations missions carried out by units like SEAL Team Six and Delta Force.

Bradley graduated in 1991 from the U.S. Naval Academy, where he studied physics and was a varsity gymnast, according to his Navy biography, and has commanded at all levels of U.S. special operations.

He was among the first to deploy into Afghanistan after the 9/11 terror attacks, his bio says.

Originally from Eldorado, Texas, Bradley earned a Master’s Degree in physics from Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, where he received a provisional patent for his research in 2006, according to his bio.

Those who served with him characterized him as among the military’s best.

Retired Navy Cdr. Eric Oelerich, a former SEAL and current ABC News contributor, said Bradley, who’s been a mentor to him for decades, is an adaptive leader and “one of the most intelligent officers” in the U.S. military.

“Bradley is an example of the very best of what is in the U.S. military,” said Oelerich, who commanded special operators as a Navy officer. “And he is a man extremely grounded in morality.”

Retired Brig. Gen. Shawn Harris, who worked with Bradley and is now a Democratic candidate for Congress in Georgia, told ABC News the admiral is “an outstanding leader.”

Used to operating in the shadows as a senior special operations leader, Bradley made a rare public appearance in July at a Senate confirmation hearing.  Nominated to serve as the four-star commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, he was confirmed and assumed the rank and command role in October.

At the time of the September strike, Bradley headed Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), which has operational authority over the military’s elite special warfare units.

In his confirmation hearing to lead Special Operations Command, the parent organization of JSOC, Bradley said officers under his command would be focused on preventing civilian harm and the laws of war.

“Just to resonate, it is not only an obligation to adhere to the law of armed conflict to protect civilians, it is critical to our success and competition to represent our values,” Bradley told Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. “I believe that every uniformed, every civilian, and every contractor that is employed or in oversight of the use of lethal force has a critical obligation to be able to do that, and I do commit to keeping that as a focus for our command, if confirmed.”

Warren replied, “That is a strong answer, and I appreciate it.”   

The administration has maintained that the 11 people killed in the Sept. 2 incident — as well as the more than 80 killed by strikes in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific Ocean — were not civilians but rather terrorist combatants that the U.S. was empowered to kill on self-defense grounds.

Some legal experts, including a group of former military lawyers, have said they believe the people killed in the follow-up strikes were no longer in the fight and therefore not legal military targets.

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