Voters across the country headed to the polls Tuesday to weigh in on a slew of statewide and local elections that could serve as a bellwether for next year’s congressional and White House races.
Virginia Democrats have gained full control of the state’s General Assembly, dealing a major blow to Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s agenda in a race seen as an indicator of Democrats’ strength heading into 2024.
In Kentucky, voters reelected Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat in a solidly red state.
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves (R) also won reelection, following a competitive race against Democrat Brandon Presley.
In Ohio, abortion protections will be enshrined in the state constitution, as voters approved ballot measure Issue 1.
Read below for a recap of how the night shook out.
Democrat wins Pennsylvania Supreme Court race
Democrat Daniel McCaffery is projected to win the vacant seat on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, according to Decision Desk HQ, giving Democrats a 5-2 majority on the state’s high court.
McCaffery, a Superior Court judge, won the election for the state Supreme Court seat against Republican Carolyn Carluccio, the president judge on the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas. The two were vying for an open seat that was vacated after Chief Justice Max Baer, a Democrat, died last year.
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves wins reelection
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves (R) was projected to win reelection over Democrat Brandon Presley to secure a second term, according to Decision Desk HQ.
Reeves was expected to have the edge in Tuesday’s election, although Presley put up what many observers considered a surprisingly competitive fight to try and flip the governor’s seat in the ruby-red state.
Reeves won with the backing of former President Trump in a conservative stronghold state that hasn’t elected a Democratic governor in 20 years.
– Julia Mueller
Virginia Dems appear to have lock on legislature
Virginia Democrats are projected to win control of both of the state’s legislature bodies, according to Decision Desk HQ, dealing a major blow to Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s agenda for the remainder of his term.
Democrats won control of the House of Delegates and maintained their grip on the state Senate. Tuesday’s election results mark a reversal from two years ago, when Youngkin was elected governor and Republicans won control of the House of Delegates.
Read the full story here.
Biden touts passage of Ohio abortion ballot measure
President Biden touted the passage of an abortion ballot measure that passed in Ohio, which enshrines protections for the medical procedure in the state Constitution.
“Ohioans and voters across the country rejected attempts by MAGA Republican elected officials to impose extreme abortion bans that put the health and lives of women in jeopardy, force women to travel hundreds of miles for care, and threaten to criminalize doctors and nurses for providing the health care that their patients need and that they are trained to provide,” Biden said in a statement.
“Tonight, Americans once again voted to protect their fundamental freedoms – and democracy won,” he said.
-Caroline Vakil
Virginia Democrats keep control of state Senate
Democrats maintained control of Virginia’s Senate on Tuesday, according to results from Decision Desk HQ, fending off challenges from Republicans throughout the commonwealth.
Going into Tuesday’s elections, Democrats held a narrow 22-17 majority in the state’s Senate.
– Julia Manchester
Democrat flips deep-red New Jersey Assembly seat in upset
Democrats have successfully flipped a seat in New Jersey’s General Assembly in a a deep-red district that has not elected a Democratic legislator in three decades.
Decision Desk HQ projects that Democrat Avi Schnall has won a seat in the assembly, unseating incumbent Republican Assemblyman Ned Thomson. Voters in each New Jersey legislative district choose two assembly members to represent them, so the contest was a four-way race featuring two Democrats and two Republicans.
Schnall was elected alongside incumbent Republican Assemblyman Sean Kean in the 30th district.
– Jared Gans
New Jersey elects first openly LGBTQ woman to state legislature
New Jersey Democrat Luanne Peterpaul was projected to win her state House bid on Tuesday, according to Decision Desk HQ, becoming the first openly LGBTQ woman elected to the state legislature.
Peterpaul, a former county prosecutor and chair of the New Jersey LGBTQ rights organization Garden State Equality, secured about 28 percent of the vote Tuesday. Together with Democrat Margie Donlon, a physician and deputy mayor of Ocean Township, Peterpaul unseated Republicans Kim Eulner and Marilyn Piperno.
– Brooke Migdon
Mississippi governor’s race too close to call
Votes are still being counted in Mississippi, and the state’s governors race is too close to call between Republican incumbent Tate Reeves and Democratic challenger Brandon Presley.
Independent candidate Gwendolyn Grey is trailing far behind the two contenders.
Polls closed at 7 p.m. CT.
Follow for more live results here.
Anti-abortion group lashes out after Ohio passes abortion ballot measure
The anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America lashed out after voters in Ohio passed a proposed constitutional amendment that enshrines abortion protections into the state Constitution.
“Issue 1 passed because abortion activists and outside Democrat donors ran a campaign of fear to Ohio voters: vote for this ballot measure or women will die,” SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser said in a statement.
“Their pervasive lie that women will die without Issue 1 was propped up by massive ad spending, funded by George Soros and a left-wing media machine which operated like Planned Parenthood’s PR department,” she continued.
Dannenfelser argued that heading into 2024, “pro-life, pro-woman coalitions will need to devote more resources to compassionate pro-life messages for women and their children, combatting the campaign of fear from the other side.”
-Caroline Vakil
Beshear says victory ‘sends a loud, clear message’
Gov. Andy Beshear thanked voters Tuesday night, telling a crowd that his reelection win against Republican Daniel Cameron, who had the backing of former President Trump, “sends a loud, clear message.”
“It was a victory that sends a loud, clear message, a message that candidates should run for something and not against someone,” he said.
“Tonight Kentucky made a choice, a choice not to move to the right or to the left, but to move forward for every single family,” he said.
Danica Roem becomes Virginia’s first openly transgender state senator
Virginia Democrat Danica Roem was projected to win her election Tuesday, according to Decision Desk HQ, becoming the commonwealth’s first openly transgender state senator and the first out transgender person elected to a state Senate anywhere in the South.
Roem, 39, defeated former Fairfax County police detective Bill Woolf, a conservative Republican endorsed by Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R), who vowed to bar transgender athletes from competing on school sports teams if elected.
“I’m grateful the people of Virginia’s 30th Senate district elected me to continue representing my lifelong home of western Prince William County and greater Manassas,” Roem said Tuesday in a statement. “The voters have shown they want a leader who will prioritize fixing roads, feeding kids, and protecting our land instead of stigmatizing trans kids or taking away your civil rights.”
– Brooke Midgon
Recent Kentucky gubernatorial elections have been bellwether for presidential race
The five most recent Kentucky gubernatorial elections before this year’s race have seemingly been bellwethers for the presidential election the following year.
The party that has won the Kentucky governor’s race has also won the presidential contest the next year since 2003, when Ernie Fletcher was elected governor a year before George W. Bush was reelected president.
That trend continued most recently with Andy Beshear’s first election in 2019 before President Biden was elected in 2020.
-Jared Gans
Biden congratulates Beshear
President Biden spoke with Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) on Tuesday to congratulate him on his reelection win, according to the White House pool report.
Beshear won reelection in a state that voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020. An Emerson College poll from October found Biden with just a 22 percent approval rating among Kentucky voters.
— Julia Mueller
Gabe Amo elected as Rhode Island’s first Black congressman
Former White House aide Gabe Amo (D) is projected to win the special election to fill the remainder of former Rep. David Cicilline’s (D-R.I.) seat in Rhode Island, according to Decision Desk HQ, making him the state’s first Black representative to Congress.
Amo beat out Marine veteran Gerry Leonard (R) to fill Cicilline’s vacancy in Rhode Island’s 1st Congressional District.
The seat went for Biden handily in 2020 and had been held by Cicilline since 2011, making Amo the heavy favorite to win the race.
-Caroline Vakil
Ohio’s Issue 2 passes to legalize recreational marijuana
Ohio voters have voted to legalize recreational marijuana, making it the 24th state to do so, Decision Desk HQ projects.
The measure, known as Issue 2, will allow adults aged 21 and older to possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana and grow up to six marijuana plants at home. It will also establish a 10-percent tax on marijuana sales. This comes after the state legalized medical marijuana years prior in 2016.
Nearly half of all states, and Washington, D.C., have now legalized recreational marijuana, and a handful more have at least legalized medical marijuana or decriminalized recreational use.
– Jared Gans
Democrat Cherelle Parker elected as Philadelphia mayor
Democrat Cherelle Parker is projected to become Philadelphia’s next mayor after defeating Republican David Oh, according to Decision Desk HQ, making her the first woman to hold that office.
Before winning Tuesday night, Parker, a former member of the Philadelphia City Council, went through a competitive primary defeating five Democratic candidates in May.
Parker centered her bid on her blue-collar upbringing and plans to address the public safety concerns in Philadelphia. She was a member of the Pennsylvania’s state House from 2005 to 2015.
– Filip Timotija
Pennsylvania polling site evacuates after bomb threat
A bomb threat in suburban Philadelphia prompted the evacuation of a polling site on Tuesday.
Officials in Delaware County asked for a voting extension, citing that the original location at Radnor High School received a bomb threat, and that police evacuated the building, according to a filing shared by Democracy Docket.
The evacuation impacted voters in two precincts in Radnor Township, and the process was moved to Radnor Elementary School, according to the Pennsylvania Department of State.
The county announced new locations and a voting extension that pushed back the poll close time to 9 p.m. local time for the two affected precincts.
Radnor police said no injuries were reported, and an investigation is ongoing.
— Julia Mueller
Ohio passes Issue 1 to enshrine abortion protection in state constitution
A ballot measure seeking to enshrine abortion protections into Ohio’s state constitution is projected to pass, according to Decision Desk HQ, delivering a major win for Democrats and abortion rights advocates ahead of 2024.
The proposed constitutional amendment would protect access to abortion up until fetal viability, with exceptions for the life and health of the patient beyond that point. It’s the first time that abortion rights advocates have been able to pass abortion protections in a state that’s trended increasingly red in recent years.
– Caroline Vakil
Beshear overperforms in reelection win, early results show
Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, projected by Decision Desk HQ to win reelection in Kentucky after a closely watched off-year race, appears to have over performed, according to early results.
Beshear reportedly performed well in 15 counties with completed results, but specifically garnered more support in Breathitt and Lee, counties that had trended towards Trump on a national level.
In addition, early results indicate Beshear did better than expected in the coalfields and in Republican areas of central Kentucky, and he appears to have maintained his strong support in urban areas that are Democratic strongholds.
Beshear beat Republican state Attorney General Daniel Cameron, who was backed by former President Trump.
– Joe Jacquez
Polls close in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Mississippi
Polls in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Mississippi closed at 8 p.m. EST Tuesday.
Voters in Pennsylvania are deciding on a new justice to fill a seat on the state Supreme Court court.
In New Jersey, voters are choosing their leaders in both chambers of the state Legislature.
And in Mississippi, Democrat Brandon Presley is vying to unseat Republican Gov. Tate Reeves.
— Julia Mueller
Early results show Ohio voters favor marijuana legalization initiative
Votes are still being counted in Ohio, but early results show voters favor Issue 2, which would legalize marijuana in the Buckeye State.
Polls closed in the state at 7:30 p.m. EST.
Ohioans are also weighing Issue 1, which would amend the state’s constitution to protect abortion rights.
Follow the results on Issue 2 here.
— Julia Mueller
Ohio abortion measure has comfortable lead early
Only about 15 percent of the vote is in, but supporters of the abortion measure in Ohio appears to be off to a good start based on early vote counts.
About two-thirds of the vote so far is in favor of the measure that would protect abortion rights up to the point of viability.
—Jared Gans
Beshear projected to win Kentucky governor’s race
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is projected to win reelection, according to Decision Desk HQ.
Beshear has received 53.35 percent of the votes, while his competitor, Republican candidate Daniel Cameron, has received 46.65 percent of the votes around 8 p.m.
Follow the live results here.
Exonerated ‘Central Park Five’ member set to win New York council seat
Yusef Salaam, a member of the exonerated “Central Park Five” who were wrongfully imprisoned for the 1989 rape and beating of a white jogger, is set to win a seat on the New York City Council.
Salaam, who is running unopposed, will represent a central Harlem district on the council. He easily won his primary earlier this year.
He was exonerated after serving seven years in prison after DNA evidence proved that he and four other Black and Latino men were not guilty.
—Jared Gans
Polls close in Ohio
Polls have now closed in the state of Ohio where voters are deciding on two major ballot initiatives.
Ohioans are deciding on a state constitutional amendment, known as Issue 1, that would establish a “fundamental right to reproductive freedom” and protect abortion rights up to the point of viability, usually around 24 weeks of pregnancy.
They are also voting on Issue 2, a ballot measure that would legalize recreational marijuana for adults 21 years old and older.
— Jared Gans
Ohio voters unhappy with overturning of Roe: NBC News exit poll
Six in 10 Ohio voters are angry or dissatisfied with the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the abortion protections in Roe v. Wade last year, according to an exit poll from NBC News as voters cast their ballots in the Buckeye State.
By contrast, 35 percent in the exit poll were satisfied or enthusiastic with the SCOTUS decision.
In Tuesday’s elections, voters in Ohio are weighing in on Issue 1, which would amend the state’s constitution to enshrine the right to an abortion.
— Julia Mueller
Youngkin dodges potential 2024 presidential run question
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) joined CNN’s Dana Bash to weigh in on the state’s elections, but when pressed about his potential ambitions for a 2024 presidential bid, Youngkin dodged the question.
Bash asked Youngkin what tonight’s results might mean for 2024, asking if he would “return the favor” and endorse President Trump for the Republican nomination next year.
“We are laser focused on 2023,” he said, encouraging voters to use the remaining few minutes before polls close to cast a ballot.
“I’m not going to endorse anyone,” Youngkin added. “I’m not going to endorse anyone; I think that voters should choose who the nominee is, and then of course I will support the nominee.”
The governor didn’t rule out a 2024 presidential bid. He said he has been asked if he would join the race many times and is “humbled by it,” but he did not give a definitive yes or no about joining the race to compete against Trump.
— Lauren Irwin
Polls close in Virginia
Polls in Virginia closed at 7 p.m. local time.
Voters in the state headed to the polls to choose their leaders in both chambers of the state Legislature. Democrats currently hold the majority in the state Senate while Republicans control the House of Delegates.
Democrats are hoping to gain full control of the commonwealth’s Statehouse, in what could be an indicator of the party’s strength heading into 2024.
Focus primarily has been on the issue of abortion access for Democrats, while Republicans have looked at crime and the economy. Follow along for live results of the Virginia state Legislature election as votes begin to be counted.
– Lauren Irwin
Beshear pulls ahead with early lead in Kentucky
Votes are still being counted in Kentucky’s governor’s race, but early results show incumbent Gov. Andy Beshear leading Republican candidate Daniel Cameron.
Polls closed an hour ago.
Follow the Kentucky governor’s race live here.
Kentucky secretary of state expects 40-45 percent turnout
Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams (R) is expecting turnout in the Bluegrass State to be between 40 percent and 45 percent, a spokesperson told The Hill.
Adams, who is running for reelection, has previously predicted that this year’s turnout will come in around last year’s 42 percent.
As of the weekend, more than 260,000 Kentuckians had used early voting, Adams said Sunday in a social media post, up from about 253,000 during the same period in 2022.
“I’m glad numbers went up each of the 3 days over last year’s, but I’m disappointed the early turnout wasn’t higher, as this time both sides put energy and resources into promoting it,” Adams added Monday.
— Julia Mueller