Democratic governors across the country are gearing up to challenge newly-elected President Donald Trump’s second-term agenda, with one promising a fight “to the death.”

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy told reporters on Wednesday that his team had recently held a meeting to “war-game” the prospect of a second Trump presidency.

New Jersey would be “willing to try anything if it goes against our values,” Murphy said when asked what the state would do to counter Trump’s sweeping proposals for a second term, including mass deportations.

“If it goes against our values, we will fight to the death,” he said. “If there is an opportunity to reach common ground, we will seize it as quickly as anyone.”

The comments came after Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris on November 5 to win a second term in the White House. Harris urged her supporters to keep fighting for democracy in a concession speech on Wednesday afternoon that mentioned the word “fight” nearly 20 times. .

Trump said the election results had provided an “unprecedented and powerful mandate” for Republicans. And with Republicans winning control of the Senate and possibly retaining control of the House of Representatives, Trump could face little resistance in Congress to his second-term agenda, which includes tougher immigration policies and LGBTQ+ protections citizens turn back.

Across the country, several Democratic leaders have spoken about their preparations to protect their states’ values ​​during Trump’s second term.

Newsweek has reached out to Democratic governors and Trump’s team by email for comment.

California Governor Gavin Newsom on Thursday called on lawmakers to convene a special session to strengthen the state’s legal tools to protect civil rights, reproductive freedom, climate action and immigrant families.

“The freedoms we hold dear in California are under attack – and we will not sit idle,” Newsom said in a statement. “California has faced this challenge before and we know how to respond.”

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey, who filed dozens of lawsuits against Trump during his first term as the state’s attorney general, has said she expects a lawsuit to be filed if Trump goes ahead with plans for mass deportations.

“There will be a lot of pressure on states and state officials, and I can assure you that we will work very hard to make this happen. I’m sure there may be a lawsuit,” she said on MSNBC .

“Every tool in the toolbox must be used to protect our citizens, to protect our residents and our states, and certainly to hold the line of democracy.”

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson, who was just elected governor of the state, told reporters Thursday that his team has spent the past year preparing for the possibility of a Trump victory.

He said he has spoken to other Democratic attorneys general across the country and has appointed his successor, Attorney General-elect Nick Brown, as special assistant attorney general so he can be briefed on legal strategies before taking on the power comes.

Ferguson said he would not give specific details about what actions might be taken, but was particularly concerned about the new Trump administration limiting access to abortion and contraception, eliminating the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program or weaken it and remove protection for children. LGBTQ+ residents.

He pointed to successful lawsuits his office pursued during Trump’s first term, including a challenge to Trump’s travel ban from several predominantly Muslim countries.

Litigation is an “important tool to challenge federal actions that we believe are illegal or unconstitutional and to hold the government accountable to the rule,” Ferguson said, adding that his team has identified 55 policies and actions during the first term of Trump has defeated.

Across New York County, Governor Kathy Hochul has convened a task force – called the Empire State Freedom Initiative – to “develop strategies to protect New Yorkers from a variety of policy and regulatory threats that could emerge under the newly elected President Trump.”

It will focus on key areas “where New York State and New York residents are most likely to face threats, including reproductive rights, civil rights, immigration, gun safety and the environment, among others,” her office said in a news release .

“I am committed to working with everyone on policies that make our state stronger, safer and more livable – but my administration will also be prepared to protect New Yorkers’ fundamental freedoms from potential threats,” Hochul said in a statement.