WASHINGTON (AP) — The first major Election Day since President Donald Trump returned to the White House started off well for Democrats.

And while a debate about the future of the Democratic Party may have only just begun, there are signs that the economy — specifically, Trump’s inability to deliver the economic turnaround he promised last fall — may hurt the Republican Party for the foreseeable future.

A Democrat won the Virginia governor’s race in one of the two biggest contests Tuesday. New Jersey was the only other state electing a governor this year.

Trump was largely absent from the campaign trail, but the GOP candidates closely aligned themselves with the president, betting that his big win last year could provide a path to victory this time, even if the party occupying the

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