Shapiro on Democrats’ election wins: Voters are tired of ‘chaos,’ ‘extremism’

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) said Democrats’ election sweep Tuesday night sent a message that voters are tired of the Trump administration’s “extremism” and that they want leaders who prioritize day-to-day issues in their communities.

“I think there’s two takeaways: One is that it was a clear message to Donald Trump that folks are tired of the chaos,” Shapiro told 6ABC “Action News” in an interview Wednesday. “They’re tired of the extremism.”

“And the second storyline is they want people who are focused on meeting their needs, who wants to get stuff done for them,” he added.

Shapiro, a moderate Democrat considered a possible 2028 presidential contender, noted that voters sent the same message in races beyond just the high-profile contests making headlines.

“Whether you’re talking about the Luzerne County Council County race, or the Bucks County DA’s race, or the Erie County executive race, or, of course, the governors’ races in Virginia, New Jersey, or the mayor’s race in New York,” Shapiro said, “There was a throughline throughout.”

“The candidates spoke about the issues that mattered in their communities. They had plans to lower costs,“ the governor continued. “They had plans to address unique needs in that community, in that state.“

“At the same time, voters went to the polls to say to Donald Trump, ‘We don’t like what you’re doing,'” he added. “And what you’re doing is making prices go up, bringing chaos into our communities and restricting our freedom and compromising our democracy.””

Affordability has emerged a key issue after Democrats won big on Tuesday in New Jersey, Virginia and New York City. Trump, reacting to the election results, cast at least some of the blame on the ongoing government shutdown — which hit a record 37 days on Thursday.