A Navy veteran, an ex-member of Congress and a self-avowed democratic socialist won resounding victories in high-profile races on Tuesday – all carrying the banner of the Democratic party and each addressing widespread concern about affordability.Despite varied biographies, top-of-the-ballot Democrats across New Jersey, Virginia and New York City each prevailed in contests before electorates who ranked the economy or cost of living as a top issue, according to exit polls conducted by ABC News.The bread-and-butter advantage among Democratic nominees marked a sharp turnabout from the presidential election a year ago, when widespread discontent over inflation helped fuel the success of President Donald Trump and the Republican control of Congress.Election 2025 key takeaways: Democrats score historic big wins leading into midtermsRoughly half of Virginia voters on Tuesday said that the economy was the most important issue facing the commonwealth, and they supported Democrat Abigail Spanberger by more than 24 percentage points, according to ABC News exit polling.Meanwhile, more than half of New York City voters said cost of living was the most important issue facing the city, dwarfing the other issues measured in ABC News exit polling – and around two-thirds of those voters cast ballots for Democrat Zohran Mamdani.Taxes and the economy tallied as the two top issues among voters in New Jersey, and similar shares of tax-focused voters supported Republican Jack Ciattarelli while economy-focused voters supported Democrat Mikie Sherrill, ABC News exit polling showed.Although each candidate has different proposals to lower costs -- with Mamdani being the most vocal about raising the tax rate on the wealthiest to pay for services such as child care -- voters in huge numbers were attracted to their messages.A person shops at a grocery store, Oct.31, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn.George Walker IV/APSpeaking to ABC News’s "Good Morning America" on Wednesday, Mamdani said he saw ...