Democrats had plenty of good news to celebrate in Tuesday’s off-year elections in the US and more evidence that they can win races centered on the national debate over abortion.
Abortion rights supporters won an Ohio ballot measure and the Democratic governor of Kentucky held onto his office by campaigning on reproductive rights and painting his opponent as an extremist.
A Democrat won an open seat on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court after campaigning on his pledge to uphold abortion rights.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Democrats took full control of the Virginia statehouse, blocking Republicans from being able to pass new abortion restrictions and delivering a defeat to Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin.
The victories would not be enough to make Democrats feel secure heading into next year’s presidential election. The off-year elections have major implications in all of those states and provide a snapshot of US politics heading into next year’s election.
However, two big names — US President Joe Biden and former US president Donald Trump — were not on the ballot this time. How Americans view them would be a huge factor in shaping next year’s race.
Democrats notched two early wins on Tuesday night in Kentucky and Ohio, states that voted for Trump in 2020.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear was re-elected in a state that Trump had won by 26 percentage points. Beshear had criticized the abortion views of his Republican challenger, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, in debates and television ads. One Beshear ad featured a woman who miscarried after being raped by her stepfather at age 12 expressing disbelief at Cameron’s opposition to abortion in cases of rape and incest.
In Ohio, a ballot measure preserving abortion rights passed in a state that Trump won by 8 percentage points in 2020. Republicans had already tried to derail the measure by calling an unusual August referendum to make it harder to pass ballot measures, an initiative that was roundly rejected by Ohio voters.
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