Jon Stewart tempers Democrats' expectations after election victories, says party is still 'a mess'

"The Daily Show" host Jon Stewart revealed Thursday he’s unsure the Democratic Party is back on track, even though it won several state and local elections on Tuesday. 

During his "The Weekly Show" podcast, Stewart told his guests — MSNBC host Chris Hayes and former Obama campaign manager David Plouffe — that the Democratic Party hasn’t gotten it together despite the victories.

"I think the Democrats are still a mess. I truly believe they are a mess," Stewart said.

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"The Daily Show" host Jon Stewart said Thursday he still believes the Democratic Party is "a mess," even though it won several state and local races on Tuesday.  (Phillip Faraone / Getty)

Democratic candidates secured victories in several blue states across the country Tuesday night. Democratic candidate Abigail Spanberger won Virginia’s governor’s race, while Rep. Mikie Sherrill captured the New Jersey governorship.

Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani also won his election for mayor of New York City.

Stewart argued that those victories don’t prove that the party is turning a corner following their disastrous 2024 performance, but said there’s "energy" within the electorate that they haven’t quite tapped into.

"What this shows to me is, again, there is this underlying potential energy within the United States of America that is much larger than I think any of us could have imagined and channeling that energy directionally will be the challenge for whoever wants to harness it."

"I still don’t believe they’re doing that," Stewart added, referring to Democratic leaders.

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Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate, former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, celebrates as she takes the stage during her election night rally at the Greater Richmond Convention Center on Nov. 04, 2025, in Richmond, Virginia.  (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Plouffe responded that conditions in the midterm elections next year should be "just as good, if not better, for Democrats," as Republicans are currently "in complete control and people are deeply dissatisfied."

However, he did agree with Stewart on the state of the Democratic Party, acknowledging that even though the GOP faces struggles, the Democrats do as well. 

"And then the big part where I agree with you, Jon, where the Democrats are still too much of a mess is, the Republican brand is terrible. We kind of have market failure. 80% of the country doesn't like either option," Plouffe said.

He noted that the strategy going forward is to focus on making the Democratic Party "stronger."

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Zohran Mamdani delivers a victory speech at a mayoral election night watch party, on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in New York City.  (Yuki Iwamura/AP)

"So, if we become stronger, if we have candidates who seem different — they're good at critiquing Republicans, but also seem that they want to challenge the status quo and say the Democratic Party's gotten some things wrong," the party will win the tougher races in states that aren't deeply blue, he argued.

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"And we have a long way to go because Virginia and New Jersey are not Iowa and Ohio and the Sun Belt. So that's where we have to get to as a party is — can we maximize Republican weakness but also maximize Democratic strength? You put those things together, that's how we become more competitive in more places — which, for the fate of the nation, is what we have to do," Plouffe said.