Maybe stealing women’s rights wasn’t the best election plan. Nor was picking on teachers and banning books.
Nor was VA Governor Glenn Young’s plan to buy the VA state legislature while he bragged about his “solution” on abortion. His goal was to position himself to be the best alternative to Trump. This did not go well. Youngkin, who earned a fortune as a private equity manager, dropped a boatload of money into Virginia’s elections and lost big time. The State Senate stayed Democratic, and the State House of Delegates flipped from Republican to Democratic. Women’s right to choose their health care won the day and the election. Youngkin got the headline he deserved: Virginia Democrats seize statehouse, dashing Youngkin’s hopes for GOP takeover (Ned Oliver, AXIOS).
In Kentucky, a proudly deep red (beet red?) state, Democratic Governor Andy Beshear won his re-elect solidly. Beshear was the first big Democratic win of the night. One subject Beshear talked about in almost every campaign stop was women’s right to choose their own health care … that it is wrong to let government dictate those choices.
Abortion rights won big in Ohio, too, as voters locked in the right to abortion in their state constitution. This is the 7th of seven initiatives on abortion, and abortion rights have won each one.
But let’s not forget the book banners. Iowa … yes, this is the Iowa that trashed its long-time reputation of being a swing state and went all-in for Republicans last election …. appears to be remembering how important a good education and an open mind are. Here’s the announcement of some fine school board results:
In this case, winning 12 out of 13 is a very fine election result. Women winning to protect their health care decisions is also a fine election result, as is what seems to be the collapse of Youngkin’s presidential aspirations. Moms for Liberty was a big fan of Youngkin, who also opposes teaching accurate history for fear the facts might be “divisive.”
What we did not see in this election: any positive headlines for Youngkin.
What we did see is how the Supreme Court’s decision on Roe is not helping Republicans win elections even though many of them cheered the decision.
Nicholas Riccardi, AP News: Democrats won big on abortion rights Tuesday. Here’s what the results say for the US going into 2024
Brandon Gillespie, FOX News: Democrat Andy Beshear wins governor race in deep-red Kentucky, a major blow to Republican hopes ahead of 2024
Susan Milligan, U.S.News: Virginia Vote Shows the Failure of the Abortion ‘Compromise’
Tessa Stuart, Rolling Stone: Maybe Stealing Women’s Rights Wasn’t the Best Election Plan