Good Wednesday morning. I'm Anna Palmer and welcome to your playbook audio briefing sponsored by Morgan Stanley.

And I'm Jake Sherman. We're kicking off the day with some news. Over the last 24 hours, New Jersey Congressman Frank Lobando and Texas Congressman Ted Poe have announced their retirements.

Several sources tell us there are likely to be more departures. On Republican officials radar, Congressman Bob Goodlat, the Virginia

Republican who is term limited atop the Judiciary Committee, and Martha McSally, the Arizona

Republican who's likely to run for a Senate seat. Goodlat's office did not respond to a request

for comment, and McSally's office did not have a comment. It was a good night for Democrats

last night in New Jersey and Virginia, where they put up wins in the governor's

mansions. Dave Wasserman also notes that raw votes cast were up 16% from 2013, and then in

Charlottesville, votes were up 31%. Maine voted to expand Medicaid, and Manchester, New Hampshire,

had its highest turnout this decade, and elected a Democrat to its mayorship for the first time in 14 years. President Donald Trump responded to

Ed Gillespie's loss in Virginia by tweeting, Ed Gillespie worked hard but did not embrace me

or what I stand for. Don't forget, Republicans won four out of four house seats and with the

economy doing record numbers,

we will continue to win even bigger than before.

The New York Times is a big picture look on how Trumpism without Trump was a losing formula in Virginia.

Jessica Post, the executive director of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee,

said flipping 14 seats from red to blue in Virginia is the biggest Democratic pickup since 1899.

That's a while ago. Virginia Congressman Scott Taylor, who represents Virginia Beach, told the New York

Times that he believes the electoral outcomes in his state is a referendum on this administration.

In the Northeast, Maine voted to become the first state to approve Medicaid expansion by popular vote,

and in Manchester,

New Hampshire, they had their highest turnout this decade and elected a Democrat to its mayorship for the first time in 14 years. Meanwhile, President Trump's trip in Asia continues.

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