US voters will go to the polls on Tuesday for off-year state and local elections in what is expected to serve as a marker of national trends at the ballot box in 2024.
Some key races are also seen as referendums on GOP presidential challenger Donald Trump, 77, who currently leads President Biden, 80, in five of the six battleground states of the 2024 race.
Tuesday’s most competitive races include gubernatorial contests in Kentucky and Mississippi, along with state legislative elections in Virginia that will determine whether Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin can win a majority there.
The results of ballot initiatives in Ohio, Pennsylvania Supreme Court races, special congressional elections and other state contests will also help Democrats decide whether they have a winning message for next year’s general election with Biden on their ticket.
The decision comes as Biden grapples with mounting pressure to shrug off everything from his dismal poll numbers to concerns about his age.
Some districts are closing schools on Tuesday to make way for voters, so check your area for more information.
Here are other things to expect before casting your vote:
US voters will go to the polls on Tuesday for off-year state and local elections, including in Virginia where Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin hopes his party can win a majority in the legislature.AP As a result of the ballot initiative in Ohio, a Pennsylvania Supreme Court race and special congressional elections will also show whether Democrats have a winning message for 2024.REUTERS
Virginia
Youngkin is looking to win a majority in the Virginia state legislature, as Democrats currently hold a five-seat advantage in the state Senate but will lose the House of Representatives to the GOP when the governor is first elected in 2021.
The 2023 election will be a referendum on Youngkin, who proposed a series of executive actions on education and criminal justice, while also signing billions of dollars in tax cuts into law.
Notable races include the state Senate’s 31st District in northern Virginia, where Youngkin beat Democratic opponent Terry McAuliffe, and the deep blue 16th district surrounding the capital in Richmond.
31st District GOP challenger Juan Pablo Segura is hoping to unseat Democrat incumbent Russet Perry, while Republican Siobhan Dunnavant is defending her seat in the 16th district against Democratic Rep. Schuyler VanValkenburg.
Youngkin is looking to expand a GOP seat in the Virginia state legislature.AP
The abortion issue is looming large in both races, with each side releasing battle ad campaigns over Youngkin’s push to enact a 15-week abortion ban, with some exceptions, if his party wins a majority.
Republicans also hope to maintain their 52-48 majority in the House of Representatives by focusing on the success of Youngkin’s agenda on parental rights issues and economic improvement, while portraying Democrats as soft on crime.
They have also used the scandal involving the Democratic candidate performing sex acts with her husband for “tips” on adult streaming websites.
State GOP operatives have circulated mailers highlighting chilling details about Democratic candidate Susanna Gibson, who is trailing by more than 10 percentage points in the open 57th District against Republican candidate David Owen.
A Republican victory in the Virginia General Assembly will increase speculation about Youngkin entering the 2024 GOP presidential race to challenge former President Trump.
Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, who recently received Trump’s endorsement, is in a tight race to unseat his state’s Democratic governor, Andy Beshear.AP
Kentucky
Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, who recently received Trump’s endorsement, is in a tight race to unseat his state’s Democratic governor, Andy Beshear, who is seeking a second term.
Beshear narrowly won her first gubernatorial election in 2019 but is now one of the most popular governors in the country, garnering support from about half of Republicans in Kentucky, a July Morning Consult poll found.
But Cameron and Republicans have attacked Beshear for his closeness to Biden, who was endorsed by the Kentucky governor for a second term, betting that the president’s current high disapproval rating will drag the Democratic candidate in a state that voted for Trump by 26 percentage points. 2020.
The race is rated “lean” by Democrats, according to the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.
Democratic Beshear narrowly won his first gubernatorial election in 2019 and is now among the most popular governors in the country, with the support of about half of Republicans in Kentucky.AP
Mississippi
Republican incumbent Gov. Tate Reeves is also running for a second term in Mississippi, where he has a single-digit lead in a race that last month shifted from “likely” to “leaning” Republican, the Cook Political Report rated.
The Magnolia State has not elected a Democratic governor since 1999, but the party hopes to revive its chances of an upset victory to unseat Reeves after former state Attorney General Jim Hood, a Democrat, lost the race to unseat Reeves in 2019.
Democrats were hoping for some changes in voting rules — including the requirement that the winning candidate get a statewide majority — and the introduction of the name of their gubernatorial candidate, Brandon Presley, a distant cousin of Tupelo-born Elvis Presley, to deliver the upset.
Reeves is also embroiled in a state corruption investigation into alleged misappropriation of millions of dollars in welfare funds while serving as Mississippi’s lieutenant governor.
Incumbent Republican Gov. Tate Reeves is running for a second term in deep red Mississippi, where he has a single-digit lead in a race that last month shifted from “likely” to “leaning” Republican.AP
Ohio ballot initiative
Voters in Ohio are considering two ballot initiatives on Tuesday, one of which will determine whether the state passes constitutional protections for abortion.
The proposed amendment, State Issue 1, would change the Ohio constitution to give voters “the right to their own reproductive medical care” and prohibit authorities from “directly or indirectly burdening, punishing or prohibiting abortion” before fetal viability.
Buckeye State voters rejected a ballot initiative in August to change the ballot threshold for amending the state constitution, meaning Issue 1 only needed a simple majority to pass.
Another referendum vote, Issue 2, would legalize recreational marijuana in Ohio.
Voters in Ohio are considering two ballot initiatives on Tuesday, one of which will determine whether the state passes constitutional protections for abortion. AP GOP candidate Carolyn Carluccio will challenge Democratic candidate Daniel McCaffery for an open seat on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.AP
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Democrats currently hold a 4-2 majority on their state Supreme Court, with a seventh seat up for grabs on Election Day that could bring Republicans one step closer to winning the court’s majority.
GOP candidate Carolyn Carluccio, a former federal prosecutor, public defender, district attorney and presiding judge of the district court of common appeals, will challenge Democratic candidate Daniel McCaffery, a former prosecutor for the Philadelphia district attorney’s office and current Pennsylvania Superior Court judge.
The race will also shed light on Republican prospects in Pennsylvania for 2024, after Biden narrowly won the swing state in 2020.
Special congressional elections
Both Republicans and Democrats are looking at two special congressional elections to predict potential weakness for 2024.
In Rhode Island, former Democratic Rep. David Cicilline retired early from the 1st Congressional District, which he won by 28 percentage points last year, pitting Republican Gerry Leonard against Democrat Gabe Amo, who looked like an Election Day challenger.
Both Republicans and Democrats are looking at two special congressional elections to predict potential weakness for 2024.AP
If Amo fails to perform well in a district that equals Biden by nearly 30 percentage points, his party will have to reevaluate some of its national strategies.
In Utah, GOP Rep. Chris Stewart resigned because of his wife’s illness, allowing Republicans to gauge their own strategy with candidate Celeste Maloy, who will face Democrat Kathleen Riebe. The election will take place on Nov 21.
Maloy previously served as chief advocate for Stewart, who won the 2022 election by more than 35 percentage points.
New jersey
Along with Virginia, Mississippi and Louisiana, New Jersey will hold elections for several state legislative candidates, including Sen. South Jersey Republican Ed Durr, who unseated Democratic state Senate President Steve Sweeney in a 2021 upset.
Democrats are not expected to lose their majority in either chamber, but the contest will determine whether GOP incumbents can hold on to some of their recent gains in the Garden State.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, a Democrat, will also see if his majority is affected by recent corruption allegations against US Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ), who has refused to resign from Congress.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
