Hey, did you hear we had some big elections last Tuesday? Results and more in today's ELECTIONS NEWS:
RESULTS
- VA: Democrats flipped both chambers of the Virginia legislature (House now 55-45; Senate now 21-19). This gives them unified control in VA for the first time in a generation.
- KY: Democrat Andy Beshear unseated GOP incumbent Bevin for Kentucky governor. There was some unsettling talk of overturning the election, but at this point, that seems to have gone dark. GOP still controls the legislature, so Beshear's power will be somewhat limited. The GOP did sweep downballot executive offices.
- MS: The GOP retained unified control in Mississippi, where LG Tate Reeves won a relatively close contest. Legislative gains for the GOP were small; they also swept downballot executive offices.
- Indy: Dems romped to re-election for Indianapolis mayor, tightened their grip on city council, and flipped some other town councils locally. This is all in IN-05, possibly indicating it will be competitive, especially since the seat will be open.
- Wichita: Dems flipped the mayor's office in Kansas's largest city. Dem candidate Whipple, who is gay, withstood late campaign smear attempts by the GOP.
- NYC: New Yorkers overwhelmingly voted to implement instant runoff voting in primary and local elections.
- In specials, Dems flipped MO HD-99, lost NJ SD- 01, and are going to runoff in TX HD-28.
- PA: Regional re-alignment continued in the Keystone State, as Democrats romped to historic wins in the Philly burbs, but saw losses in red-trending SW PA. Elsewhere in PA, the Working Families Party scored a council seat in Philadelphia, but an attempt to oust retrograde Allegheny County (Pittsburgh) DA Zappala failed.
- Reformist public defender Chesa Boudin won election as DA of San Francisco.
- Seattle: Left candidates mostly did well in City Council voting, despite Amazon dumping barrels of money into the election.
- Crystal Ball E-Day wrap-up.
- As always, Daniel Nichanian's What's On the Ballot is a great source for less-publicized elections of consequence.
HOUSE
- IN-01: Longtime Dem Rep Pete Visclosky is retiring. District is Solid D, barring any real foul-ups.
- CA-25: Former Rep Steve Knight (R), who lost this seat in 2018 primarily by being asleep at the wheel, is in for the special election. District is Leans D.
- MA-06: It looks like conserva-Dem rep Seth Moulton - who could forget his thrilling presidential campaign? - is getting a credible primary challenge from the left.
- MD-07: In news designed to make me feel old, Kweisi Mfume is planning on running for the late Elijah Cummings's seat. Mfume held this same seat back in the 90s. District is Solid D.
- IL-15: Retiring rep John Shimkus (R), who had briefly flirted with not retiring, is now in fact retiring. What a roller coaster ride these last few days have been for us all. District is Solid R.
SENATE
- AL: Former Sen Jeff Sessions (R) is in for the GOP primary. However, he does not have White House support, and the crowded field seems unlikely to clear for him.
- TX: A U of TX poll finds GOP incumbent Cornyn with pretty anemic approval ratings. Obviously, Texas is a very steep hill to climb for Democrats (no, Beto is not running), but Cornyn may be more vulnerable than previously thought.
- MA: Senate Dems seem pretty underwhelmed by Joe Kennedy III's primary challenge of Sen Markey.
- Money may not change everything (pace Cyndi Lauper), but it's a big factor in a Senate race, and Dems are outraising the GOP. The only issue is that small dollar donors aren't necessarily paying attention to the closest races.
STATES
- LA gov: Early voting is always a bit of tea leaf reading, but the general take is that so far, those signs are favorable for incumbent Dem gov Edwards. The runoff election is this coming Saturday, Nov 16.
- The Alaska Division of Elections says that the recall effort against gov Dunleavy does not meet any of the permissible reasons for a recall under state law. This looks a bit fishy, though, and recall advocates will be appealing in court.
ODDS & ENDS
- Updated pollster ratings from 538 (and discussion thereof).
- Why are voters still willing to ticket-split for governor, but not any other offices?
- TX GOP mulling attempt to end big city judicial elections, now that Dems are winning them.
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