Democrats had a strong showing last night, as results from the November 2023 election night came pouring in. It surprised no one that New Jersey stayed predominantly blue, with 25 Democrats winning their state senate election and 47 winning for the state assembly, while 15 Republicans won their senate seats and 27 won for state assembly.
Here are some other big takeaways from the election results:
Races
According to NBC, Virginia had a big night with current Republican governor, Glenn Youngkin, failing to turn Virginia into a Republican state, with hopes of bringing more conservative policies in, including a 15-week abortion ban. Democrats won the majority of positions in both the Senate and the House. Youngkin’s failure can be attributed to his Democratic opponent’s spending on “bashing” his campaign, as well as the backlash he received on his view on abortion.
Kentucky, a state that has seen a lot of close races, re-elected democratic Mayor Andy Beshear with 53% of the votes. According to CBS News, Beshear has made a positive impact on the state through his handling of the COVID pandemic and natural disasters. In his victory speech, Beshear said, “Tonight, Kentucky made a choice, a choice not to move to the right or to the left, but to move forward for every single family, a choice to reject team R or team D, and to state clearly that we are one team Kentucky.”
It was also a big night for women. Both Philadelphia and Des Moines elected their first female mayors. According to CBS News, Cherelle Parker is the first female mayor to lead Philadelphia, and she will be the city’s one hundredth mayor. Mainly, Parker plans to focus on police and the law, calling for more police officers on the streets of the city.
Abortion Rights
In Ohio, Kentucky, and Virginia, votes to keep abortion rights won by a substantial amount, according to CBS News. The results of these votes make it clear that abortion rights are still very present in politics and will be an empowering force for the Democratic party going into presidential elections.
