By Will DeMartinis
All you need to know about what’s on the ballot this November.
Once again this November voters will head to the ballot box to elect their local office holders and government officials. This year’s headliners include governor’s races in Kentucky, Mississippi, and Louisiana, along with a handful of local legislative elections- highlighted by the Virginia house of delegates and senate, two chambers that are narrowly held by Republicans after flipping in 2021. These races are largely viewed as litmus tests for the political headwinds heading into 2024, a presidential election that many will assume comes down to current president Joe Biden & former president Donald Trump, a rematch of 2020.
Starting off gubernatorial, Democrats currently hold 2 of the 3 governorships up this fall – Kentucky and Louisiana. Kentucky is the headliner of the 3. Viewed as the most competitive this fall, incumbent Democratic governor Andy Beshear is looking to win re-election against incumbent Republican attorney general Daniel Cameron. Beshear became governor of Kentucky in 2019, defeating unpopular Republican incumbent Matt Bevin by just over 4,000 votes. This time around, Beshear is popular in the Bluegrass state, with approvals consistently over 50% despite Kentucky’s recent status as a solidly Republican state (It votes for Donald Trump by over 25 points in 2020). Beshear’s opponent, attorney general Daniel Cameron, was elected the same year as Beshear in 2019. Running on a trump-like platform, Cameron is attempting to flip the governorship back into control of Republicans using the same playbook that many tried and true candidates used before. However, Beshear’s popular approvals, status as the incumbent, and name recognition (His father was governor Steve Beshear), Beshear is perceived as a slight favorite to win re-election, with the most recent poll showing him leading his rival 52% – 41%
Legislatively, Virginia is the star of the show. Both of its chambers flipped party control in 2021 off of Republican Glenn Youngkins electoral coattails and success in the 2021 Virginia governor election. Virginia itself has been a state trending towards the Democrats ever since Barack Obama won the state over John McCain in the 2008 presidential election, the first Democrat to do it since president LBJ’s landslide victory in 1964. Since then, Virginia has voted for the Democratic nominee presidentially ever since, most recently voting for Democrat Joe Biden by 11 points in 2020. However, the state’s legislative chambers only flipped in 2019 for the Democrats, securing themselves just 2 years of control before relinquishing both chambers narrowly in 2021. This race is viewed as the ultimate battle and litmus test for the 2 major parties as to whose policy platform and bread and butter issues are turning out voters and can guarantee their major presidential candidate 4 years in 2024. Currently, the house of delegates is a pure tossup and the senate leans towards the Democratic party, but incredibly narrowly. Undoubtedly, besides Kentucky, Virginia’s house of delegates and senate will be the most interesting races to watch.
Those are the key races of the 2023 Midterms (at least all I could fit in my roughly 400 word article limit). This year’s elections will be a massive test for both parties, and come November of next year may be looked back on as the start of Joe Biden’s re-election or defeat to the hands of Donald Trump in 2024.
