Another shocking election night
Democrats beat Republicans and media narratives
Welcome to a Tuesday night edition of Progress Report.
It’s off-year election night in several states, a glut of major cities, and local governments all across the nation. It’s a biannual holiday for people who are obsessive about policy and down-ballot races in random states, and let’s just say we’re celebrating tonight.
Overall, it was another night that defied the Beltway media’s conventional wisdom, with Democratic wins, Republican humiliations, and proof that the best approach to politics is giving people something to vote for — and then delivering.
Before we get to the results, check out a new investigative piece I wrote with Florida journalist extraordinaire, Jason Garcia, exposing the far-right billionaire whose organization literally wrote the text for Florida’s horrible new child labor rollback bill. We’ll discuss this more in the next issue of the newsletter.
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Kentucky: Democratic incumbent Gov. Andy Beshear cruised to re-election on Tuesday night, defeating the state’s far-right, Mitch McConnell-trained, Trump-approved Republican candidate, attorney general Daniel Cameron.
Beshear is one of the most popular governors in the country, which is no small feat for a Democrat in a state that voted for Trump by 26 points in 2020. While polls showed Cameron closing the gap late in the race, Beshear dramatically improved on his 2019 performance, winning by six points.
The state’s growing economy played a major role in Beshear’s victory, but so did his personal popularity, which stems in large part from his competence and compassion. As I first noted in 2021, Beshear’s tireless work and public profile after Kentucky was devastated by deadly tornadoes helped to define him as a leader who transcended partisanship.
Reproductive rights also came into play down the stretch. Abortion is banned in Kentucky due to an old trigger law, though voters’ overwhelming rejection last year of an initiative that would have codified the ban in the state constitution. Beshear ran against the current law and Cameron’s emphatic support for it, closing with this devastating ad:
It’s straight forward, does not manipulate any facts, and is one of the most effective spots I’ve seen in a very long time.
Ohio: After so many years of quivering at social conservative narratives and trying to downplay the issue, it’s become abundantly clear that not only do a vast majority of Americans favor reproductive rights, but they’ll turn out in record numbers to defend them.
Issue 1 passed with 55% of the vote on Tuesday night, making Ohio the latest state to enshrine abortion rights in its state constitution. It’s a huge margin, yet would not have been enough to pass the amendment had voters been bamboozled into raising the threshold to 60% this summer.
Somewhat remarkably, an even higher percentage of Ohioans voted to legalize recreational marijuana on Tuesday. Issue 2, which was sold as a pathway to regulate marijuana like alcohol, passed with 56% of the vote.
Virginia: It was a humiliating night for Gov. Glenn Youngkin, the vest-clad, hoops-shooting private equity dad who spent millions of dollars to try to win a GOP trifecta and instead hit an absolute brick.
Democrats not only held on to their majority in the state Senate, they also flipped back the House of Delegates, giving them full control of the legislature during Youngkin’s last two years in office. The golden boy of Beltway media ever since he rode Covid-era anger and casual racism into the governor’s mansion is now a lame duck with no political argument for his theoretical presidential campaign.
I’m not sure what I’m going to do with all the novelty sweater vests I invested in, but I’ll figure that out later.
Among the big winners tonight was Josh Cole, the former Delegate who lost in 2021 but took his seat back tonight. He’s a long-time friend of the newsletter, and we interviewed him earlier this year.
Pennsylvania: Progressives scored a big win in western Allegheny County, as former state Rep. Sara Innamorato was elected county executive by a 51-48% margin. Innamorato will be the first woman to hold that powerful position.
Across the state, Cherelle Parker, a moderate insider, will be the first woman to serve as Mayor of Philadelphia after her landslide victory.
Democrats — and sanity — also prevailed in Bucks County, a massive suburb of Philadelphia where Moms for Liberty helped weirdo Republicans seize control of the Central Bucks school board in 2021. By causing one firestorm after another by banning books and pride flags and suppressing conversation around events like January 6th, the conservatives inspired parents and students to organize and raise money for what became a nationally watched campaign.
Tonight, Democrats flipped three Republican-held seats and restored their own 6-3 majority. More proof that people don’t really like far-right freaks running their lives.
Initiatives
Hanover County: The effort to wrest control of a right-wing school board fell short in the much more conservative and rural Hanover County, Virginia. Voters wound up breaking 53-47% against the proposal to directly elect school board members instead of having them directly appointed. The margin was far closer than other elections in the county, even though the Vote Yes campaign wound up being massively outspent.
Tacoma: Another bummer update for you, this time out of Washington State. Voters in Tacoma narrowly voted down what would have been one of the most expansive tenant protection laws in the nation.
Philadelphia: This one wasn’t even close, as Philadelphians overwhelmingly voted in favor of establishing a permanent Office for People With Disabilities.
Cleveland: Yeesh. It’s looking like another likely narrow defeat for a good progressive initiative, as 51% of voters in Cleveland decided against participatory democracy. It seems as if there will be no direct input from residents on how the city spends its massive annual budget.
Maine: The ballot proposal to build a public-owned got absolutely wrecked, which is generally what happens when a campaign is outspent 40:1. This doesn’t mean that people are happy with the two private power companies that fought the initiative, but it’s back to the drawing board on how to deal with them.
Colorado: On the bright side, voters in Denver and across Colorado gave their resounding approval to two initiatives meant to increase funding for universal preschool.
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Another fantastic day at the ballot box for democrats and progressives! My favorite quote of the night is"VOTERS VOTE,POLLS DON'T" !!!
The proposals need to be written plainly, not in legalese, so people will understand not only what they’re about, but how they will be affected.