Voters in more than a dozen states went to the polls to elect governors, mayors and other officials, and decide on civil liberties and abortion.
It became clear to many, for example, that abortion rights have an impact wherever they appear on a ballot, and that is good news for Democrats.
The elections on November 7 came at a time when the strategies of the two parties that dominate the spectrum in Washington, Democrat (blue) and Republican (red) are being defined for next year’s elections.
Some headlines on American television summarized that it was a great night for the Democrats and they are right.
A ballot measure that would enshrine abortion protection in the state constitution won in Ohio, and the result there – which also endorsed the recreational use of marijuana – came just months after they rejected another initiative to restrict the practice.
In one way or another, yesterday’s numbers were linked to the issue, because in Kentucky, Democratic Governor Andy Beshear was re-elected by defeating state Attorney General Daniel Cameron, a Republican who defends the ban on abortion and with close ties to the former president. Donald Trump (2017-2021).
While in Mississippi, Republican Governor Tate Reeves defeated Democrat Brandon Presley, but Virginia was the tremendous fiasco, because the governor of the same party, Glenn Youngkin, failed in his promise to implement abortion bans when the Democrats won control of both legislative bodies of the state.
The Blues won the leadership of the House of Delegates and maintained their majority in the state Senate, marking a change from two years ago, when Youngkin was elected to office and the Reds gained control of the chamber.
Other notable results of the day were the election in Virginia itself of Democrat Danica Roem as the first openly transgender state senator and in Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) they will have the first female mayor in its history, the blue Cherelle Parker.
In turn, Democrats gained several seats in the New Jersey assembly and retained competitive seats in the state Senate, and in Houston, Texas, the mayor will be decided in a runoff on December 9.
Following the reports from Ohio, President Joe Biden – who has had no cause for celebration in recent days due to poor poll numbers – said that “Americans voted once again to protect their fundamental freedoms and democracy won.”
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