In the aftermath of election night, it can be confusing to know what to take away. Here’s a summary of what you need to know following last night’s results.
Kentucky
The Kentucky governors’ race was the most talked about race of the night. At this point, it seems that Democratic challenger Andy Beshear has defeated incumbent Gov. Matt Bevin. Though Bevin has yet to concede the race, at the time of writing Beshear leads Gov. Bevin 49.19% to 48.83% with a spread of 5,189 votes.
Some, especially in the news media, are attempting to frame this Republican loss as a referendum on President Trump. Yet, it seems this is more of a referendum specifically on Gov. Bevin, not on the Republican agenda in general. Gov. Bevin was the least popular Republican governor in the country with a 34% approval rating, and a 53% disapproval rating.
This point seems especially salient when considering Republican attorney general candidate Daniel Cameron defeated his Democratic challenger Gregory Stumbo with 57.75% to 42.25%. Cameron is the first Republican candidate to win the Kentucky attorney general’s office in 70 years.
Virginia
In Virginia, Democrats won slim majorities in the House of Delegates and the state Senate, both of which were previously held by Republican majorities. With both the governor’s office and the state legislature now controlled by Democrats, it is likely the push for pro-abortion legislation that failed earlier this year will be renewed.
Interestingly, statewide more Republicans than Democrats voted. For the House of Delegates races, 860,893 Republicans voted compared to 823,693 Democrats. Yet with how the votes panned out in each individual race, Democrats were still able to take unified control of the Virginia government.
Mississippi
Strongly pro-life candidate Tate Reeves won the Mississippi governor’s office with 52.14% compared to his Democratic challenger Jim Hood’s 46.62%.
Governor-elect Reeves was a strong proponent of the pro-life Heartbeat Bill that passed in Mississippi earlier this year. After a judge stopped the bill from taking effect, Reeves spoke at a church saying, “Abortion is the greatest evil of our time. If you believe as I do, that these are living human beings, then what we are witnessing across our country is not a political issue. It is a moral issue. It is good versus evil; it is right versus wrong.”
Texas
Voters in Texas approved a constitutional amendment banning an income tax. The measure passed overwhelmingly with over 75% of voters favoring the ban. They say everything is bigger in Texas, but apparently that doesn’t apply to income taxes.
Arizona
Voters in Tucson, Arizona rejected a measure that would have made Tucson the state’s only sanctuary city. Opposition to the initiative was bipartisan with the mayor and the city council, all Democrats according to Fox News, fighting the measure.
Election season is ramping up and The Daily Citizen will be here to keep you informed through all of it.
