Several states held elections last night, on November 7th. Here are the results of some of the more important elections that happened last night. Note: This article may be updated as more results are revealed.
In Virginia, the seats of their General Assembly were all up for election. The General Assembly of Virginia (their state legislature) is made up of two Houses: the Senate of Virginia, and the House of Delegates of Virginia. Before the election, the State Senate was controlled by Democrats, and they kept said control. As well as that, prior to the election the House of Delegates was controlled by the Republican Party. However, it now seems that the Democratic Party has most likely won control of said house. This is a huge win for Virginia Democrats, and a big blow to the Republicans. That all being said, the Governor of Virginia Glenn Youngkin is a Republican, so there will have to be bipartisan action to get any bills passed.
In Kentucky, the Democratic incumbent for Governor stayed in said office. This is a very important election for predicting the presidential election, because Kentucky’s gubernatorial elections are always a year before the Presidential election. You may be thinking, okay but what does that have to do with anything? Well, every gubernatorial election in Kentucky since 2004 and onward have voted for the party of the President that wins the following year. In 1999, the majority voted for a Democratic Governor, which would’ve matched the 2000 Presidential election if the Supreme Court didn’t order the counting in Florida to stop—but I digress. The Democratic Governor stayed in office, which could be a sign that President Biden (D) will keep his office in the 2024 elections.
In Ohio, there were two amendments on the ballot. The first one was to legalize abortion, and the second was to legalize the use of recreational marijuana. Both of said amendments were approved by the majority of voters. This is a huge change, especially since Ohio has been leaning more and more conservative ever since the 2016 elections. This surprising change could be due to the fact that in the eyes of many, the Republican Party has been getting more and more extreme. A lot of moderate conservative voters are pro-abortion rights, which could make the ‘pro-life’ Republicans seem less appealing to said voter base.
In Mississippi, the incumbent Republican Governor Tate Reeves defeated Democratic challenger Brandon Presley. However, he won only by a 4.6% margin. This is a big surprise in a state that leans so heavily Republican.
In Texas, all of the amendments passed last night, except for Proposition 13. Proposition 13 would have raised the mandatory retirement age of state judges from 75 to 79 years old. Texan voters refused to pass said proposition, meaning that state judges must still retire by the time they’re 75 years old.
In Rhode Island, there was a special election for one of their Congressional districts, since the representative of said district had resigned earlier this year. That seat is very liberal, meaning that the Democratic candidate has the win all but guaranteed. This means that the US House will most likely be 221 – 213 now, giving the Democrats one more seat and making the House partisan lines even closer.
Overall, the biggest things that happened last night are that the Republicans did not take control of the General Assembly of Virginia, and the right to abortion will now be protected in the State of Ohio. Make sure to keep an eye on elections near you, by visiting your state’s MyVote website. Voting is important, as it’s how your voice gets heard in Democracy.
Footnote: Our Twitter/X: @WiscAdvance Article wrote by Alex (@enbyalex9 on Twitter/X), on November 8, 2023. Copyright The Wisconsin Advance
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