1:13 am ET, November 8, 2023
As abortion takes center stage, Democrats score big wins in key races. Here are the picks from the polls
From CNN’s Gregory Creek
For all the sound and fury surrounding Tuesday’s election, there was one clear signal: Abortion rights are politically popular, no matter where or when they’re on the ballot.
No matter how you slice it, that’s good news for Democrats as the parties plot their strategies ahead of the 2024 election.
Gov. Glenn Young — a Virginia Republican who believed he could crack one of the most intractable issues in American politics with his promise of “reasonable” abortion restrictions — won’t lead the GOP-controlled legislature in the commonwealth, denying the party control. The state Senate and his plan for a 15-week abortion ban put a swift end to both rumors that he might pursue a 2024 presidential bid.
Meanwhile, voters in Ohio said decisively Months after they rejected another measure that would have made it harder to protect abortion rights, they wanted a constitutionally protected right to an abortion on the ballot.
And in Kentucky, The The Democratic governor was defeated A state attorney general with close ties to her Republican rival, former President Donald Trump and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, made abortion a sticking point after a campaign.
As Ohio Goes, So Goes the Nation? Tuesday night’s election results, given Ohio’s recent presidential election history, won’t change the equation for Biden in 2024. But Sen. How about Sherrod Brown? The Ohio Democrat faces a tough re-election bid next year, but results in the Buckeye State could give him a boost.
Already a proven political winner for Democrats, abortion rights further cemented their place as a driving force in next year’s elections, with voters in Ohio, an increasingly conservative state that twice voted for Trump, passing a referendum on Tuesday. Red, blue and purple states have nearly identical plans to green, confirming a trend that defies partisan expectations and could have a big impact on next year’s federal elections. In the end, Ohio Republicans could have easily walked away. Their vote now comes during a year without a vote for statewide office or the president. Other state Republicans may not be so lucky.
Glenn Younkin and Virginia hit a wall: As Young’s 2024 team hit the road on Tuesday, Virginia voters denied the governor and his party the legislative majority they wanted. That means the 15-week abortion ban, which Young championed as a “fair” solution, he said, in last year’s Roe v. The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Wade will quell the anger of Americans who disagree. That could account for rumors that Youngin, who has always insisted he has no ambitions to run for northern Virginia, will try to make a late entry into the 2024 GOP presidential race. The logic there turned on the governor’s ability to form a coalition that includes the far-right, center-right and pure centrist swing voters — or something like the one that won him the governor’s mansion in 2021.
Democrat Andy Beshear wins re-election in Kentucky. But who lost? Andy Beshear won for the second time in 2020 that Trump won by more than 25 points in 2020. Now the real fight begins. The defeat of Daniel Cameron, often described as a supporter of McConnell despite being endorsed by Trump, will cause a lot of finger-wagging within the Republican Party. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie took aim at the former president shortly after the polls closed, calling it “another loss for Trump.”
History-making wins in Rhode Island and Philadelphia After the results come in on Tuesday night, the government will look a little more like a government. To begin with, Cape Amo, a Democrat, is expected to win Rhode Island’s special congressional election. He was the first black to represent the state in Congress. And in Philadelphia, former City Councilwoman Cheryl Parker is the first woman to lead the City of Brotherly Love.
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