Big Wins Give Democrats a 'Blueprint' for 2024

Voters back abortion access, appear wary of Trump-backed candidates
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 8, 2023 6:49 AM CST
With Big Wins, Democrats Get a 'Blueprint' for 2024
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear speaks during an election night rally after he was elected to a second term in Louisville, Ky., Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023. At right is his wife Britainy Beshear.   (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)

Nearly a year and a half after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, abortion remains a key issue in elections across the country—to the benefit of Democrats, who've made protecting abortion rights a priority. A major takeaway from Tuesday's elections is that "voters are casting ballots in favor of abortion access when it is a prominent election issue," ABC News reports. Indeed, Arizona Republican strategist Barrett Marson tells CNN that Tuesday's results "should scare every Republican in a state where an abortion question is on the ballot in 2024." More:

  • Abortion: Abortion rights remain "politically popular," given that voters backed a constitutionally protected right to abortion in Ohio and kept Democrats in control of the Kentucky governorship and the Virginia state Senate, while also flipping the Virginia state House blue, CNN reports. In its view, abortion rights will undoubtedly remain "a driving force in next year's elections," which is a good sign for Democrats.
  • A boost for Biden: After a concerning poll, "Biden was in need of some good news to point to. And the victories provided exactly that," per NBC News. "Across the country tonight, democracy won and MAGA lost," Biden wrote on X. "Voters vote. Polls don't. Now let's go win next year." Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez also boasted of the results, saying that when it comes to abortion, "Americans overwhelmingly side" with Democrats, per CNN.

  • Loss for Trump: Republican state Attorney General Daniel Cameron's failure to nab the governorship in Kentucky will "stir a lot of finger-pointing within the Republican Party," per CNN. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has already cast this as "another loss" for former President Trump, who'd endorsed Cameron. "The losing will only end for Republicans if we rid ourselves of Donald Trump," Christie tweeted.
  • Tough night for Youngkin: Several Republican rising stars were dimmed, but that of Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin in particular, per ABC. Rumored to be considering a 2024 presidential bid, he has little to show for the months he spent deeply involved in state races, hoping to flip the state Senate to red. The Democrat-controlled Senate will only continue to block Youngkin's plan for a 15-week abortion ban.

  • A 'blueprint' for Democrats: Newly re-elected governor of Kentucky, Democrat Andy Beshear, has shown the party how to succeed "in less liberal territory" by keeping the focus on regional issues, per ABC. "His message that voters should not look to Democrats or Republicans, but to those who reject divisive politics, could serve as a blueprint for his party in traditionally Republican states," adds the BBC.
  • Making history: Former city councilmember and teacher Cherelle Parker, who was endorsed by Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, will become Philadelphia's first female mayor, per ABC.
(More Election Day stories.)

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