Greetings N2K reader!

We were up late last night awaiting the results of the off-year elections in New York, New Jersey, Virginia, and California¹ . So let’s skip the preamble and get to: the news you need to know!

—Matt Davis, Need2Know Chedditor

News You Need2Know

• What last night’s election results mean for market …

• Trump admin to pay half of SNAP benefits

• Nintendo Switch 2 soars to new heights

• Robinhood co-founder's space lasers will beam ener …

• EV sales plunge as federal tax credits expire

• Poll of the day: SCOTUS-Pocus

What’s the stock market up to, eh?

$SPX ( ▼ 1.17% ) $DJI ( ▼ 0.53% ) $NDX ( ▼ 2.04% )

Companies mentioned in today’s newsletter

$NFLX ( ▼ 0.65% )  $AMZN ( ▼ 1.84% )  $HOOD ( ▼ 6.99% )  $F ( ▼ 1.69% )  $HYMTF ( ▼ 7.44% )  $NTDOY ( ▲ 2.36% )  

What last night’s election results mean for markets, the shutdown, tariffs, and you, dear reader

Voters across the country sent a decisive economic message in last night’s off-year elections, focusing overwhelmingly on the theme of affordability. Americans grappling with anxieties about high bills, inflation, and the cost of living dictated the terms of the gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia, as well as the mayoral race in New York.

Dr. Ashley Konig, the director of the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling at Rutgers University, told ABC News that "the theme of affordability is pretty widespread across these elections." In New Jersey, Konig defined “affordability” to ABC News, "it's really a focus on what is happening to people's wallets." This frustration translated into support for candidates promising relief, such as Zohran Mamdani, who won the New York City mayoral race — with the highest turnout in decades — after vowing to freeze the rent for rent-stabilized apartments. Here’s my favorite bit of coverage of that race from the New York Times last night:

A key driver of this voter angst, particularly relevant to energy markets, is soaring utility costs linked to data center proliferation and the AI boom. Virginia State Del. Shelly Simonds, a Democrat, told NBC News that “voters are mad as hell about energy prices increasing” and warned that "anybody who ignores these issues does so at their peril."

These data centers, which power companies like OpenAI and run the servers for AI algorithms on major platforms like Netflix $NFLX ( ▼ 0.65% ) and Amazon $AMZN ( ▼ 1.84% ) , demand an outsize amount of electricity. Daniel Lockwood, a spokesman for PJM Interconnection, which runs grids in 13 states, told NBC News that “demand for electricity is growing... driven by data centers that power the digital economy and the development of artificial intelligence.” In response, Mikie Sherrill, a Democrat who has since been elected governor of New Jersey, pledged to declare a state of emergency to freeze utility rate hikes.

Similarly, in Virginia, newly elected Democratic governor Abigail Spanberger’s platform called for making sure data centers pay their "fair share" of new electricity generation and transmission costs. New Jersey state assemblywoman Andrea Katz, a Democrat, told NBC News that data centers "just need to contribute to the community in the same way that all the other businesses do."

Imagine that.

Meanwhile, the massive influx of big money into these state elections — often from energy interests and special donors — underscores the high stakes for regulatory policies. The decisive focus on cost of living, as veteran Democratic operative Jesse Ferguson told PBS NewsHour, shows that candidates must be “able to connect the pain from Washington to the pockets in Virginia."

As for tariffs and the government shutdown, the pressure on President Donald Trump is higher as a result of the election results. Many voters in Virginia happen to have been furloughed federal employees, for example:

Texas Governor Greg Abbott threatened to impose a “100% tariff” on anyone moving to Texas from New York following Mamdani’s victory, but it’s unclear literally what that means or whether any New Yorker would ever choose to make the move. If you’ve done it, email me and tell me why? (If it’s for the breakfast tacos, I understand.)

Not perhaps too suprisingly-ish, President Trump reprised unfounded claims about election interference yesterday. He remains adamant about defending his tariffs, which face scrutiny from the Supreme Court today. “If we win, we will be the Richest, Most Secure Country anywhere in the World, BY FAR,” Trump wrote on social media. However, opponents, including some economists, point out that these tariffs have led to higher costs for American consumers.

Meanwhile, the government shutdown — now nearing historic lengths — continues to dominate headlines. Amid polling that shows increasing public dissatisfaction, presidential historian Tevi Troy noted, “It’s an odd confluence to have these three potential checks on presidential power — legislative, judicial, and electoral — all come in one week.”

An odd confluence, indeed.

Song of the day: Motörhead & The Damned: ‘Neat Neat Neat’

It may be that you’re in the mood to blast some strong punk music out of your computer this morning. If so, this newly released collaboration between Motörhead and English punk band The Damned, who originally recorded the song in 1977, and recorded this with the late Lemmy and his band in 2002, might be right up your street.

The song is included on the tribute album “Killed By Deaf: A Punk Tribute to Motörhead,” which celebrates Motörhead's 5öth anniversary and also features other nötable punk bands. 

Trump admin to pay half of SNAP benefits

The Trump administration will only pay out half of the usual food stamp benefits for November due to the ongoing government shutdown. The decision taps into SNAP’s contingency fund but has left millions of Americans worried about feeding their families.

According to Patrick “Verbose, Moi?” Penn, a USDA official, the partial payments will create significant delays as states will need to reprogram outdated systems to adjust to reduced allotments. “Given the variation among state systems, some of which are decades old, it is unclear how many states will complete the changes in an automated manner with minimal disruption versus manual overrides or computations that could lead to payment errors and significant delays,” Penn breathlessly explained in court documents.

Trump acknowledged the challenges on his Truth Social account: “If we are given the appropriate legal direction by the Court, it will BE MY HONOR to provide the funding, just like I did with Military and Law Enforcement Pay.”

However, advocates, including Skye “Zthe Limit” Perryman, president of Democracy Forward, are demanding full benefits: “It shouldn’t take a court order to force our President to provide essential nutrition… We will continue to fight so that people have the full benefits they are entitled to under SNAP,” she said.

The partial funding decision leaves 42 million SNAP recipients facing increased hardship this month; 38% of SNAP recipients have at least one working family member.

Post of the day: Ex Veep re Ex Veep

Quote of the Day

Nintendo Switch 2 soars to new heights

Nintendo $NTDOF ( ▲ 2.66% ) has shattered industry expectations with the phenomenal success of the Switch 2, selling a jaw-dropping 10.36 million units in six months, and making it the biggest console launch ever.

The company’s latest financial report has now raised its hardware forecast to 19 million units sold by March 2026. “Mario Kart World,” the flagship title for the Switch 2, has also contributed significantly to the console’s success, selling 9.57 million copies—of which 8.1 million were bundled with the console, while more than a million players bought the game separately for $80.

Should you check your 401(k) today?

👎️ 

On no account.

Robinhood co-founder's space lasers will beam energy back to Earth

This is like something out of “Star Wars,” honestly. Baiju Bhatt, co-founder of Robinhood $HOOD ( ▼ 6.99% ) , is now at the helm of Aetherflux, a company revolutionizing energy with space lasers. Aetherflux aims to build a power grid in orbit, a concept Bhatt describes as taking "the solar panels from the house and just mov[ing] them further up." This innovative approach seeks to collect power in orbit and transmit it to Earth, initially for military applications.

Bhatt explains, "we're building an intergrid, which is gonna collect power in orbit and transmit it down to the ground, where you can collect it again and use it for electricity." The first demonstration involves "power beaming from low earth orbit with infrared lasers," where a satellite will detect a ground station and discharge stored energy into a laser system to transmit power with photons.

While starting with military uses, the broader goal is to "generate more power for humanity in space." Bhatt emphasizes using "largely off-the-shelf components" and leveraging the reduced cost and increased reliability of getting to space to drive "iteration speed." He envisions a five-year timeline for full-scale operation, with the ultimate aim of expanding to provide "power for the full spectrum of use cases on Earth."

EV sales plunge as federal tax credits expire

U.S. electric vehicle sales saw a dramatic downturn following the expiration of the federal $7,500 tax credit on September 30. Major automakers such as Ford $F ( ▼ 1.69% ) , Hyundai $HYMTF ( ▼ 7.44% ) , and Kia reported steep sales declines, with some models suffering over a 90% drop. The sharp decline has raised concerns about the future of EV adoption in a market that had heavily relied on government incentives.

Ford reported some of the most significant impacts, with sales of its F-150 Lightning plummeting 92% compared to September, while the Mustang Mach-E fell 81%. Hyundai and Kia experienced similar struggles, with Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 sales down 86% and Kia’s EV6 dropping 90%.

Without the tax credit, consumers are shifting focus toward hybrids or traditional gas-powered vehicles.

Poll of the day: How do you feel about the elections?

Poll of the day: SCOTUS-Pocus

We asked: Do you think SCOTUS will side with the president over using emergency powers to invoke tariffs?

You answered:

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Yes. They'll split along conservative and liberal lines. (550)

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ No. I think they'll overturn the use of "emergency" powers in this instance. (186)

736 Votes via @beehiiv polls

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1  Actually, we went to bed before the California results came in. Anyone know how they went?