The latest from elections in Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky and results

Andy Beshear and his wife, Britainy, are pictured during an interview with CNN’s Kate Bouldan on November 8.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, fresh off winning a tough reelection battle last night, reacted to the victory on CNN alongside his wife Britainy, telling CNN’s Kate Bouldan that his success was not because of “wedge issues,” but rather his individual message to Kentuckians.

“I know that there are different issues out there that may be driving people right now, but at the end of the day they want somebody they trust, that cares about them and that is going to work as hard as it can. And it doesn’t have to be more complicated than that,” the governor said, adding that his campaign’s strategy was to “not get distracted by whatever the issue of the day is in Washington, DC.”

“My opponent’s attempts to nationalize this race backfired, because he wasn’t talking about what he wanted to do as governor,” he continued, speaking about Republican candidate for governor Daniel Cameron. “So any time you want to bring in the wedge issues or try to make it about something else, you are missing your chance to talk to voters about what you would do.”

Britainy, who was involved in her husband’s campaign, said that while the political climate was “tough” and “extremely divisive,” Kentuckians showed with their votes that “the politics of divisiveness and hatred do not have a place in the governor’s office in Kentucky.”

Beshear said he is “absolutely not” considering a 2024 presidential bid.

“Well, it’s kind and it’s flattering, but my job is to be the best governor that I can be,” Beshear also said of 2028 rumors. “Every day now that I have left as governor is special.”

Hilary Clinton during an interview on ABC's "The View" on November 8.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that “the election results yesterday should be very good news for President Biden,” during an appearance on The View.

“Joe Biden has not only proved that he’s done a good job, but look at the alternative. Look at what we would face as a country. I think the election results yesterday should be very good news for President Biden,” Clinton said, noting that voters are clearly animated by abortion rights and increasingly repelled by political extremism.

Clinton said that it is “natural” for parties to toss around alternative candidates at this stage of the race, noting that the same happened during Barack Obama and Bill Clinton’s re-election campaigns. Still, she said, Biden remains the best person to take on former President Donald Trump.

“What I think, again, we saw yesterday, is that a lot of people may not be telling pollsters they’re reconsidering, but they’re reconsidering,” Clinton said of Trump’s success in the polls. 

Issue 1 supporters cheer at a watch party on November 7 in Columbus, Ohio.

Ohio on Tuesday night became the latest state to protect reproductive rights in its state constitution — joining California, Vermont and Michigan. It is the first and only state under full Republican legislative control to do so, signifying a growing disconnect between Ohio voters and the state’s Republican leadership, including Gov. Mike DeWine who signed a “heartbeat bill” banning abortion at around six weeks into law in 2019.

This comes months after a special election in August where 57% of Ohio voters rejected an initiative that would’ve raised the threshold to amend the state constitution from a simple majority to 60%. Although the measure was not directly about abortion, it served as a proxy battle for abortion rights in the state.

Ohio voters’ decision to protect the right to abortion in the state constitution overrides a six-week ban that was briefly in effect following the overturn of Roe v. Wade and has since been blocked by an injunction. Abortion is currently legal through 22 weeks in Ohio.

The same counties where more than 60% of voters opposed changing the constitutional amendment process also strongly voted in favor of protecting abortion in the state’s constitution.

In the general election, proponents of Issue 1 — which establishes a constitutional right to abortion — spent nearly $25 million in advertising, compared to opponents of the measure who spent $16.3 million, according to recent data from AdImpact.

Abortion proved to be a big motivator for Ohio voters during the off-year special election in August — which otherwise might’ve passed by under the radar. Voters turned out in droves to defeat the measure that would have altered the state’s amendment process. 

Top Senate Republicans called for changes to how the party handles divisive issues such as abortion rights ahead of the 2024 midterms after last night’s disappointing results.

He noted that he was troubled by the low voter turnout. 

“These were races that Democrats didn’t win – Republicans lost, we didn’t show up, same way we didn’t show up in Georgia in 2020,” Tillis said. 

He also pushed for state Republican parties to meet their voters where they are on abortion rights. 

“As speaker of the House, I passed several pro-life bills. When I ran for election in 2014, my position on pro-life never came up. Why? Because we made damn sure it was consistent with the majority of voters in North Carolina. That’s what we need to do across the country,” Tillis said.

Senate Minority Whip John Thune agreed that candidates are going to have to be on “offense” in 2024, saying: “We have to have a compelling message that appeals to suburban voters, no question about that.”

He added, “I think that’s economy, jobs, cost of living, public safety, the border, I think those are the issues that are going to resonate with people across the country. And our candidates this year are going to be on offense on that issue.”

Sen. John Cornyn noted that every candidate is going to have to find a message on abortion that works for their constituency in 2024. 

“This is something each individual candidate has to try to figure out for themselves. Every part of the country is a little bit different, so in places like New York or California, they’ll continue to be more permissive than in conservative states like mine that’ll be less so,” he said.

“I wouldn’t state a general rule that would apply nationwide,” he added. He also noted that they need, “good candidates who can answer the questions.”

However, Sen. Steve Daines, the chairman of the Senate GOP’s campaign arm, argued that these elections were focused on state’s issues, not national ones, and are not a signal of what’s to come in 2024.

Daines added, “These are state issues they were battling. It’ll be a very different set of issues in ’24 as we look at the United States Senate.”

Sen. Mitt Romney is seen at the US Capitol on September 21, in Washington, DC.

Republican candidates in 2024 should focus on the economy and steer clear of social issues, after last night’s disappointing results, GOP Sen. Mitt Romney said Wednesday.

“I think we perform best when we talk to people about the cost of living, and the fact that under President Biden, the cost of living has gone way up, their incomes have not gone up with it. When we’re talking about people’s lives, we win,” the Utah Republican told CNN’s Manu Raju. “When we’re talking about some social issues, they can become highly divisive and we end up not doing as well as we could have.”

Romney acknowledged there is “no doubt” that abortion will still be a key issue next year, noting that they “each can describe our personal views and what we want to do on issues of significance,” but he still emphasized the economy as the focal point of their messaging.

However, Romney doesn’t think that Republicans’ poor showing in this year’s elections are a signal of what’s to come in the 2024 presidential election.

“I don’t really think that the kinds of election results that we saw last night translate terribly well into President Biden’s reelection effort,” he said. “I think President Biden is overwhelmingly going to be judged on the basis of how people feel about their personal economy, about the cost of living, and I think abortion is going to be a big issue in states’ ballot initiatives and so forth, but at the national level, I think it’s going to be about the economy.”

Romney added, “I think Trump can absolutely win. I think the polls are showing that if the election were held today, Trump would win.”

Former President Donald Trump sits in the courtroom during his civil fraud trial on November 6, in New York City.

Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday tried to blame the defeat of the candidate he backed in the Kentucky governor’s race, Daniel Cameron, on Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. 

“Daniel Cameron lost because he couldn’t alleviate the stench of Mitch McConnell. I told him early that’s a big burden to overcome. McConnell and Romney are Kryptonite for Republican Candidates,” Trump posted on Truth Social. 

Trump continued, “Tate Reeves, on the other hand, surged to a win for Governor in Mississippi after my involvement. Congratulations to Tate!”

Cameron, the state’s Republican attorney general, lost to incumbent Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear.

The biggest question in Tuesday’s elections was whether Democrats can maintain their advantages in the nation’s biggest population centers – despite all the headwinds buffeting the party.

Geographic polarization has been one of the most powerful trends in American politics for roughly the past two decades, with Democrats gaining ground in the most populous metropolitan areas almost everywhere, and Republicans growing stronger in the smaller places beyond them. That trend notably accelerated after Donald Trump emerged as the GOP’s dominant figure in 2016 and has ratcheted up since the Supreme Court rescinded the constitutional right to abortion last year.

The GOP’s dominance of exurban, small-town and rural areas helped Trump win the White House in 2016 and has allowed the party to solidify its grip up and down the ballot on interior states with large nonurban populations. But Republicans’ retreat from the well-educated inner suburbs around major cities has been the principal reason for their disappointing results in the 2018, 2020 and 2022 elections, as well as the anti-abortion movement’s defeat in a series of ballot initiatives since the 2022 Supreme Court decision.

By traditional measures, the political environment for Tuesday’s election again looked favorable for Republicans, with most voters expressing dissatisfaction about both the economy and President Joe Biden’s job performance. But all of those conditions were present in the 2022 midterms, when Republicans underperformed anyway, mostly because of continued resistance in the major population centers – especially those well-educated inner suburbs where most voters oppose new restrictions on abortion.

The largest urban and suburban areas likely determined whether Democrats could defy political gravity once again this year in Tuesday’s key elections, from Kentucky and Ohio to Virginia and Pennsylvania. If Democrats run well, it will reinforce the message from the 2022 midterms that they can hold a critical swathe of voters who feel the party has not delivered for their interests by portraying Republicans as a threat to their rights and values.

Read Brownstein’s full analysis.

People cheer as they watch election results come in on November 7, in Columbus, Ohio. 

States and cities across America held elections on Tuesday in the last major election day until the presidential primaries begin in January.

For all the sound and fury around yesterday’s elections, there was one clear signal: Abortion rights are politically popular, no matter where or when they are on the ballot.

And that — no matter how you slice it — is good news for Democrats as the parties plot their strategies ahead of the 2024 elections.

Gov. Glenn Youngkin – the Virginia Republican who believed he could crack one of the most intractable issues in American politics with the promise of “reasonable” abortion restrictions – will not lead a GOP-controlled legislature in the Commonwealth, which denied the party control of the state Senate and put a swift end to both his plan for a 15-week abortion ban and rumors he might pursue a 2024 presidential bid.

Meanwhile, voters in Ohio decisively said they wanted a constitutionally protected right to abortion with the passage of a ballot measure – only a few months after they rejected another measure that would have made it harder for them to shield abortion rights.

And in Kentucky, the Democratic governor defeated his Republican challenger, a state attorney general with close ties to former President Donald Trump and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, after a campaign in which abortion became a flashpoint.

Here are the key election night takeaways on a strong night for Democrats:

As Ohio goes, so goes the nation? Tuesday night’s election results probably won’t change the equation for Biden in 2024, given Ohio’s recent presidential electoral history. But how about Sen. Sherrod Brown? The Ohio Democrat faces a difficult reelection run next year, but outcomes from the Buckeye State may give him a boost.

Already a proven political winner for Democrats, abortion rights further solidified their place as a driving force in next year’s elections when voters in Ohio, an increasingly conservative state that voted twice for Trump, passed a ballot measure on Tuesday enshrining them in the state constitution. Red, blue and purple states alike have green-lit similar proposals, solidifying a trend that defies partisan expectations and could have an outsized influence on next year’s federal elections. In the end, though, Ohio Republicans might have gotten off easy. Their referendum took place now, during an off-year with no voting for statewide office or president. Other state Republican parties might not be so lucky.

Glenn Younkin and Virginia hit a wall: The Youngkin 2024 bandwagon ran off the road on Tuesday, when Virginia voters denied the governor and his party the legislative majorities they craved. That means no 15-week abortion ban, which Youngkin backed as a “reasonable” solution that, in his telling, was going to douse the rage of Americans who disagreed with the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade last year. It also likely puts to bed rumors that Youngkin, who has always insisted he had no ambitions to move north of Virginia, will attempt a late entry into the 2024 GOP presidential primary. The logic there turned on the governor’s ability to craft a coalition that included the far-right, the center-right and the pure centrist swing voter – or something akin to what won him the governor’s mansion in 2021.

Democrat Andy Beshear won reelection in Kentucky. But who lost? Andy Beshear won a second term on Tuesday in a state that Trump carried by more than 25 points in 2020. Now the real fight begins. Endorsed by Trump but often described as McConnell’s protégé, Daniel Cameron’s defeat will stir a lot of finger-pointing within the Republican Party. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was directing his at the former president shortly after the polls closed, calling the result “another loss for Trump.”

History-making wins in Rhode Island and Philadelphia Government will look a little more like the governed after Tuesday night’s results are all in. To start, Democrat Gabe Amo is the projected winner of Rhode Island’s special congressional election. He will be the first Black person to represent the state in Congress. And in Philadelphia, former city councilmember Cherelle Parker will become the first woman to lead the City of Brotherly Love.

Read more election takeaways.

Gov. Glenn Youngkin during a campaign stop at a polling location in Bristow, Virginia, on Tuesday.

Democrats will win full control of the Virginia legislature, CNN projects, effectively ending Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s hopes of governing with Republican majorities and enacting his conservative agenda. 

Virginia Democrats will flip the state House while retaining their majority in the state Senate.  

Control of the state legislature was at stake in this year’s election, with Republicans defending their narrow majority in the state House. Youngkin, who has been touted as a potential late entrant into the 2024 Republican presidential race currently dominated by Donald Trump, spent much of the past few months rallying GOP voters toward a hoped-for governing trifecta.  

The elections were also seen, for better or for worse, as a referendum on Youngkin’s non-MAGA brand of conservative politics and the state House of delegates and state Senate candidates who subscribe to it. 

Democratic candidate for Virginia House of Delegates Rodney Willett and Democratic candidate for Virginia State Senate Schuyler VanValkenburg greet supporters at an election party on Tuesday in Richmond, Virginia.

But with Democrats projected to control the state legislature, Youngkin may have lost the opportunity to portray himself as the rare GOP leader with some distance from the MAGA brand and a record of winning over some Democrats. 

The results also underscore the power of abortion politics after yet another campaign waged with reproductive rights as a central issue broke in Democrats’ favor. Youngkin had vowed that if Republicans won full control of the Virginia legislature, they would pass and he would sign legislation to outlaw abortions after 15 weeks, with exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother.  

Going into the election, Virginia Democrats held a 22-17 majority in the state Senate, with one vacancy. Republicans controlled the state House 48-46 with six vacancies. 

The post has been updated with the results from the House of Delegates races.

CNN’s Ethan Cohen, Molly Gahagen and Melissa Holzberg DePalo contributed reporting to this post.

Mississippi GOP Gov. Tate Reeves greets supporters at his gubernatorial reelection watch party in Flowood, Mississippi on November 7.

Republican Gov. Tate Reeves will win a second term as governor of Mississippi, CNN projects, winning a majority of the vote to avoid a runoff.

Reeves will defeat Democrat Brandon Presley, a member of the state Public Service Commission and a second cousin of Elvis Presley, who conceded the race in the deep-red state Tuesday night.

The Republican governor is a longtime fixture in Mississippi politics, serving in statewide office for nearly two decades. He was first elected state treasurer as a 29-year-old in 2003. After two terms as treasurer and another two as state lieutenant governor, he was elected to the state’s top executive office in 2019.

In television ads, Reeves linked Presley to President Joe Biden on issues such as gender-affirming care and immigration and attacked his opponent for receiving campaign contributions from out-of-state donors. A closing ad from the Reeves campaign featured former President Donald Trump touting his endorsement of the governor.

Reeves campaigned on Mississippi’s education improvement, as the so-called “Mississippi miracle” has seen the state rise more than any other on fourth grade reading and math scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress from 2011-2022, according to the state department of education.

Presley sought to make an economic appeal to working-class voters by pledging to cut taxes and expand Medicaid. While Reeves opposes expanding Medicaid, he proposed a nearly $700 million plan to support the state’s struggling hospitals.

Presley also tried to link Reeves to the state’s wide-ranging welfare fraud scandal, which took place when the Republican was lieutenant governor. While Reeves’ name is frequently mentioned in legal proceedings, he has never been officially accused of any wrongdoing and has denied any involvement.

This year’s governor’s race in Mississippi was determined by only the popular vote. Under the old system, candidates needed to win a majority of the popular vote and a majority of state House districts. And if no candidate managed to meet both requirements, the Mississippi House, which Republicans have controlled for more than a decade, would determine the winner.

In 2020, Mississippi voters amended their state constitution to change the way statewide officials, including governors, are elected. Under the new system, a runoff would take place if no one candidate receives a majority of the popular vote.

Voting rights groups had long argued that the old system diluted the Black vote in a state with the highest percentage of Black residents in the nation.

CNN’s Dianne Gallagher contributed reporting to this post.

Kimberly Mata-Rubio speaks at an event in Austin, Texas, on March 9, 2023, about the day her daughter was killed at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde.

Kimberly Mata-Rubio, the mother of an Uvalde school shooting victim, will lose her bid to become the Texas city’s next mayor, CNN projects. 

Former Uvalde Mayor Cody Smith will win the special election to succeed incumbent Don McLaughlin, who is stepping down after nearly 10 years leading the city — about 80 miles west of San Antonio — to pursue a Texas state House seat.

Smith will finish out the rest of McLaughlin’s term, and the office will be up for grabs for a full term next year. 

Mata-Rubio ran on a platform focused on “boosting our economy, protecting our history and culture, and improving city services so they work for you,” according to a September campaign video posted on X, the platform previously known as Twitter.  

Her daughter, Lexi, was among 19 fourth graders and two teachers who were fatally shot inside Robb Elementary School in May 2022. 

When announcing her campaign in July on X, Mata-Rubio addressed her daughter, vowing she would “honor your life with action.” 

Since the mass shooting, officials have given shifting and contradicting narratives about the police response to the incident. Mata-Rubio has demanded answers from officials and has been a vocal proponent of tougher gun laws, including calling for a ban on assault rifles. 

During a congressional hearing on gun violence last year, Mata-Rubio remembered her daughter as “intelligent, compassionate and athletic.”  

“We don’t want you to think of Lexi as just a number,” she said.  

Daniel McCaffery arrives at his polling place to vote in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on November 7.

Democrat Dan McCaffery will win a seat on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, CNN projects, expanding his party’s majority on a court likely to issue consequential rulings on abortion and election procedures. 

McCaffery – who currently sits on a statewide appellate court known as the Superior Court – will defeat Republican Carolyn Carluccio in what became an expensive and hotly contested race this year. 

He will fill an open seat, vacant since the death last year of Chief Justice Max Baer, a Democrat. 

The outcome does not change the partisan balance on the seven-seat court, where Democrats currently hold a 4-2 majority. But justices have deadlocked 3-3 on several key cases – including on whether to count mail-in ballots that were missing a date on their return envelope in last year’s midterm elections. 

And his victory in Tuesday’s election could help his party retain its majority on the court in future election cycles. Retention elections for three of the four current Democrats on the high court are slated for 2025. 

(Pennsylvania is one of a handful of states that directly elect state Supreme Court judges in partisan contests. Justices serve a 10-year term before voters decide whether to retain them.) 

The future of abortion dominated the race. 

Carluccio, a Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas judge and a former prosecutor, faced opposition from Planned Parenthood Votes, an abortion rights group. The group’s advertising highlighted reporting that a line on Carluccio’s campaign website about her being a “defender … of all life under the law” had been removed after she won the GOP primary earlier this year. 

Carluccio downplayed the abortion issue during the campaign and, in an op-ed about her candidacy, wrote that she puts loyalty to the law above any ideology.  

For his part, McCaffery, a former Philadelphia prosecutor, emphasized protecting abortion access – a strategy Democrats have used in elections across the country since the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. And he touted his endorsements from abortion rights organizations, along with those from Democratic groups and labor unions. 

Abortion is currently legal in the Keystone State up to 24 weeks, but the state’s justices are weighing a case about the use of public funds to help women obtain the procedure. 

From left, Sheila Jackson Lee and John Whitmire.

The race to be the next mayor of Houston will advance to a runoff between Democrats John Whitmire and Sheila Jackson Lee, CNN projects, with no candidate taking a majority of the vote in Tuesday’s first round.  

Whitmire, a longtime state legislator, and Jackson Lee, a longtime congresswoman, were the top two vote-getters in the crowded nonpartisan contest to lead the country’s fourth-largest city. They will next face off in a December 9 runoff. 

Incumbent Mayor Sylvester Turner, a former Democratic state lawmaker, is term-limited. 

Jackson Lee, 73, who represents Texas’s 18th Congressional district, was first elected to the US House in 1994 after earlier stints on the Houston City Council and as a Houston municipal judge. If she wins the runoff, she would become the first Black woman elected mayor of Houston and the city’s third female mayor. She has been endorsed by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo.  

Whitmire, 74, has served in the Texas legislature for more than 50 years. He was first elected to the state House in 1972 and won election 10 years later to the state Senate, where he is currently the chamber’s longest-serving member. He had endorsements from Houston-area US Rep. Sylvia Garcia, former Houston Mayor Lee Brown, who was the first Black man to lead the city, and several local police organizations. 

Whitmire also earned the endorsement of the Houston Chronicle editorial board, which touted his experience and pragmatism in the state legislature, writing, “What he lacks in youthful pep or pigment he makes up in connections and know-how.” 

CNN’s Ethan Cohen, Molly Gahagen and Melissa Holzberg DePalo contributed to this post.

Mississippi Democratic gubernatorial candidate Brandon Presley speaks to reporters during a campaign stop on November 6, in Jackson, Mississippi. 

Democratic challenger Brandon Presley said he called Gov. Tate Reeves to concede the governor’s race in Mississippi.

Presley, who is a second cousin of Elvis Presley, serves on the Mississippi Public Service Commission.

CNN has not yet made a projection in the governor’s race.

Reeves announced in front of a large, enthusiastic crowd that he had accepted the concession of his opponent. Reeves noted that his victory was not too bad for “one of the most unpopular governor in America” as the media dubbed him, he said.

“Mississippi has momentum, and this is Mississippi’s time,” Reeves said.

Reeves said that Presley campaigned hard and visited many counties in this state and congratulated him for “running hard all the way through.”

Reeves thanked former President Donald Trump, noting he had spoken to him just minutes before on the phone. He said that Trump told him to tell the people of Mississippi that he loved them and he would ensure Trump carried the state again in 2024.

 Chris Christie speaks during the Florida Freedom Summit in Kissimmee, Florida on November 4.

Chris Christie, Republican presidential candidate, said Tuesday that any Republican who is “overconfident” about beating President Joe Biden in 2024 is “a foolish Republican,” as Democrats celebrate victories and close races in some key statewide elections. 

Christie told CNN’s Abby Phillip that Biden’s incumbency is “a very strong tool,” and noted the Democratic president “will always be a difficult opponent.”

A new CNN poll finds former President Donald Trump narrowly leads Biden, 49% to 45% among registered voters, in a hypothetical rematch.

The one-time Donald Trump ally called the former president “electoral poison,” pointing to losses by Republicans in the past three elections and saying “tonight, you’re seeing us lose again.”

He said Kentucky Republican Daniel Cameron made a “huge mistake” by embracing Trump in the Kentucky gubernatorial race, and “the voters of Kentucky, very red state, as you noted, gave their verdict on politicians who sell their soul to Donald Trump.”

Christie also reaffirmed his position that abortion restrictions should be decided at the state level, unless the country reaches a national consensus.

“If at some point there was a clear consensus amongst all 50 states about some number of weeks [for a ban], that would be something I’d be willing to consider, but it would have to be a consensus that was formed by the 50 states,” he told Phillip.

Christie, who personally opposes abortion, said he’d consider signing a bill backed by the requisite 60 votes in the Senate, but noted he didn’t “see that happening any time soon.”

Ohio became the latest state on Tuesday to vote in favor of protecting abortion access after the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade last year.

In the Virginia legislature election, Democrats currently have an advantage in both the House Delegate and Senate races, leading in 52 House seats and 21 Senate seats, according to the Virginia Department of Elections.

In order to gain control in the House of Delegates, a party needs to win 51 seats. It needs 21 seats for a majority in the Senate.

Republicans are leading in 48 seats in the House Delegate races and 19 in the state Senate races.

Democrats have had control of the state Senate while Republicans have had control of the House of Delegates.

It’s still too early to call control of the chambers.

The Virginia Capitol in Richmond, Virginia.

While there are no statewide races on the ballot in Virginia, every legislator in the commonwealth is up for reelection.

Polls closed at 7 p.m. ET in the state and results continue to come in.

If Republicans can maintain control of the House of Delegates and overcome the narrow Democratic majority in the Virginia Senate, Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s party would have full control of state government for the first time in a decade. 

Abortion has been a major issue in the campaigns, as Democrats pitch themselves as the last defense against the 15-week abortion ban Youngkin has promoted.

Education has also come to the forefront in the final weeks of the campaign, as advertisers from both parties have produced more unique ads referencing education than either abortion or crime, according to AdImpact data. The fight over Virginia schools was a major issue in the state’s 2021 election when Youngkin flipped the governor’s mansion and the House of Delegates. 

These were the first elections Virginia conducted under the state’s post-2020 census legislative maps.

During the 2020 election, Virginia voters approved a redistricting reform which created a commission made up of both citizens and politicians. However, the commission stalemated and the state Supreme Court drew maps instead. Those maps didn’t take incumbency into consideration, so many sitting members of the legislature ended up in unfamiliar districts or paired with their colleagues.

The competitive races in Virginia are largely taking place in three main regions of the state: The outer Washington, DC, suburbs like Fredericksburg, Prince William, Loudon and Stafford Counties, the suburbs of Richmond in Henrico County and the Hampton Roads region in the southeastern part of the state. 

Ohio will become the latest state to enshrine reproductive rights in its state constitution, CNN projects, continuing a winning trend for abortion rights advocates since the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

The vote is yet another sign that abortion access is a key issue for voters across party lines — even in a state like Ohio, which has trended Republican in recent elections.

See how people in the state reacted to the news:

Abortion rights supporters celebrate winning the ballot measure Issue 1, a measure to enshrine a right to abortion in Ohio's constitution, in Columbus, Ohio, on November 7.

People arrive at the Center for Christian Virtue in Columbus, Ohio, Tuesday for a watch party for opponents of ballot measure Issue 1.

Issue 1 supporters cheer as they watch election results come in on Tuesday in Columbus, Ohio.

A woman bows her head during a prayer at a watch party for opponents of Issue 1 at the Center for Christian Virtue.

The stage is set at a watch party for opponents of Issue 1 at the Center for Christian Virtue.

Supporters of Issue 1 cheer as results come in at a watch party hosted by Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights on Tuesday in Columbus, Ohio.

Vivek Ramaswamy fills out his ballot on Election Day in Columbus, Ohio, on November 7.

Vivek Ramaswamy, an Ohio-based Republican presidential candidate, said pro-life advocates need to discuss abortion “very differently” to make political progress in the future after Ohioans voted to enshrine the right to an abortion in the state’s constitution.

Ramaswamy, who voted against the ballot measure in Columbus on Tuesday, said the pro-life movement “needs to be better about the way we discuss this issue” in the wake of another strong showing of support for abortion rights from voters in a traditionally conservative-leaning state, following similar results in Kansas and Kentucky in recent elections.

Ramaswamy said the moment calls for “deep reflections” among Republicans and anti-abortion activists.

Ramaswamy suggested Republicans enact policies and messaging strategies around increasing access to contraception, making adoption a more feasible alternative to abortion, expanding access to childcare and codifying into law “greater sexual responsibility for men,” which he said could include increasing financial responsibilities for fathers confirmed via paternity test.

“That, combined with different messaging, yes I do believe will win many Americans over,” he said.

If he won the presidency, Ramaswamy said he would not sign a federal abortion restriction into law. He argued that, as “a 10th Amendment absolutist,” abortion access should be determined by states. But he also expressed hope for the future of the pro-life movement, despite the “lost battle” today in Ohio.

Newly elected Speaker of the House Rep. Mike Johnson speaks with Speaker pro tempore Patrick McHenry in the House chamber after his election at the US Capitol on October 25, 2023 in Washington, DC.

Senior House Republicans are downplaying the abortion rights referendum approved by Ohio voters, arguing that the 2024 election will turn on other issues instead.

Asked by CNN if he’s concerned his party is on the wrong side of public opinion on the issue, House Speaker Mike Johnson — who has made his anti-abortion views central to his political identity — said: “I’m not going to comment on that.”

Rep. Jim Jordan, the Ohio Republican who chairs House Judiciary Committee, told CNN that issues like crime and immigration would drive the election in 2024 — not abortion.

“Those issues are going to drive the election,” he said.

Another member of the House GOP leadership team predicted that the abortion issue would “not determine any race” for a House seat next year.

In the Virginia legislature election, Democrats currently have an advantage in the House Delegate races, leading in 52 House seats while Republicans lead in 48, according to the Virginia Department of Elections.

In order to gain control of the chamber, a party needs to win 51 seats.

Meanwhile, the state Senate election is a bit tighter with Democrats leading in 22 races and Republicans leading in 18. To control the chamber, 21 seats are needed for a majority.

Democrats have had control of the state Senate while Republicans have had control of the House of Delegates.

It’s still too early to call control of the chambers.

Democratic nominee for governor Brandon Presley holds his "I Voted" sticker at the Nettleton Methodist Church Life Center, Mississippi on November 7.

So far, Democrat Brandon Presley is out-performing President Joe Biden in Mississippi’s Jackson County in the race for governor against Gov. Tate Reeves, according to CNN’s John King.

With 20% of the vote counted in Jackson County — the fifth largest in the state — Presley is running ahead by 10 points, King told CNN’s Jake Tapper.

“That’s decent,” he said.

But in order to take the state, Presley, who is a second cousin of Elvis Presley, will need to continue to dramatically outperform Biden in other counties.

About 40% of the vote has been counted in Mississippi’s governor race, with votes in the important Hinds County yet to be counted.

Earlier, a Mississippi judge extended voting by one hour in Hinds County, citing several precincts running out of ballots.

Issue 1 supporters cheer at a watch party in Columbus, Ohio on Tuesday, November 7.

Ohio’s Issue 1 vote is sending shockwaves through states like Arizona. Activists in that battleground state are gathering signatures for a 2024 ballot initiative that will ask voters whether the state’s constitution should be changed to protect abortion rights.

Ohioans approved a ballot measure that will enshrine the right to abortion in the state constitution, CNN projects, in yet another sign abortion access is a key issue for voters across party lines ahead of next year’s 2024 election.

Essentially, abortion rights advocates in Arizona want to replicate Ohio’s Issue 1 results.

Arizona Republican consultant Barrett Marson said, in short, his party should be scared after Ohio.

In this June 2023 photo, President Joe Biden address a campaign rally on the first anniversary of the Supreme Court's Dobbs v. Jackson decision which struck down a federal right to abortion at the Mayflower Hotel on June 23, in Washington, DC.

President Joe Biden applauded voters in Ohio for passing a measure to officially enshrine abortion rights into the state constitution while blasting Republicans’ “extreme and dangerous agenda” on reproductive health.

“Ohioans and voters across the country rejected attempts by MAGA Republican elected officials to impose extreme abortion bans that put the health and lives of women in jeopardy, force women to travel hundreds of miles for care, and threaten to criminalize doctors and nurses for providing the health care that their patients need and that they are trained to provide,” the statement said.

Vice President Kamala Harris also applauded Ohio’s decision, saying in a statement that the vote “underscore[s] what the vast majority of Americans believe: politicians should not interfere in decisions that should be between a woman and her doctor.”

With Tuesday’s vote, Ohio becomes the latest state to approve abortion access in a direct vote in the 16 months since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

In his statement, Biden blasted the GOP’s stance on the issue, warning that it’s “out-of-step with the vast majority of Americans.”

Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Harris has largely led the administration’s efforts to codify abortion protections, convening a number of roundtables on the issue at the White House and meeting with state and local officials across the country to discuss abortion access across the country.

A senior campaign official told CNN that the passage of the measure shows “that the Biden agenda is the right agenda to run on, that the American people are with us on the issues that we are putting front and center in this campaign, and almost more dramatically that the MAGA agenda continues to be a loser. Every time voters have a chance to vote on the MAGA extremism, they reject it.”

“Every time we see an election where abortion is on the ballot, or Republicans are running on an extreme agenda in Ohio, in Virginia, … they lose,” the official added.

Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez also celebrated Tuesday’s results, writing “Tonight, Democrats across the country won because they ran on standing up for personal freedoms, defending democracy, and fighting for working families.”

Chavez Rodriguez blasted what she called “the dangerous MAGA extremism that has come to define today’s Republican Party at every level.”

 CNN’s Betsy Klein and Donald Judd contributed to this report.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear speaks during an election night rally after he was elected to a second term in Louisville, Kentucky on Tuesday, November 7.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear thanked voters Tuesday night following his reelection in the competitive race against GOP Attorney General Daniel Cameron.

He said the win is not just his, but that “this was our victory.”

“It was a victory that sends a loud, clear message, a message that candidates should run for something and not against someone,” he said.

The White House said President Joe Biden spoke Tuesday evening with Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear to congratulate the Democratic incumbent on his reelection tonight, according to pool.

Marijuana buds ready for harvest rest on a plant at AT-Calyx Peak Companies of Ohio, in 2019 in Akron, Ohio.

Voters in Ohio will approve a ballot measure that will create a new law legalizing and regulating recreational marijuana, CNN projects.

The ballot measure required a simple majority to be adopted.

The measure will legalize and regulate the cultivation, possession, sale, purchase and use of marijuana for adults 21 years and older. It will also tax marijuana sales and use that money to fund several programs, including a “cannabis social equity and jobs program.”

Ohio will become the 24th state to legalize recreational marijuana.

CNN’s Ethan Cohen, Molly Gahagen and Melissa DePalo contributed reporting to this post.

A voter fills out his paper ballot in this north Jackson, Mississippi on November 7.

The Mississippi Republican Party filed a “motion to intervene and emergency appeal,” asking the state Supreme Court to vacate a lower court judge’s order to extend voting by one hour in Hinds County.

The filing asks that the order extending voting hours be modified to require all voters not in line at 7:00 p.m CT “to be segregated and not counted with the ballots of voters in line prior to 7:00 pm” and for those ballots to not be counted, but instead sent to the Circuit Court Clerk’s office “in a sealed ballot box.”

Earlier, a Mississippi judge extended voting by one hour in Hinds County, citing several precincts running out of ballots.

Polling places closed at 9 p.m. ET in the county, the most populous in the state.

Hinds County includes large portions of Jackson, the state capital, and is more than 70% Black, according to the US Census Bureau. 

Supporters of Issue 1 attend a rally for the Right to Reproductive Freedom amendment held by Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights at the Ohio State House in Columbus, Ohio, on October 8.

Voters in Ohio will approve a ballot measure that would enshrine the right to abortion in the state constitution, CNN projects.

The vote is yet another sign that abortion access is a key issue for voters across party lines, even in a state like Ohio, which has trended Republican in recent elections.  

The Ohio measure will add a section to the state constitution titled “The Right to Reproductive Freedom with Protections for Health and Safety.” The amendment will guarantee the right to abortion, although the state would be allowed to prohibit it after fetal viability, except in cases of the life or health of the mother.

The determinations of viability and the life or health of the mother would both be made by the mother’s physician. It also includes protections for other reproductive decisions, including contraception and fertility treatment.

Abortion in Ohio is currently legal up to 22 weeks into a pregnancy. At the center of the debate over Issue 1 was Ohio’s six-week abortion ban, which was blocked by a court last year but is being considered by the state Supreme Court. Abortion rights advocates argued that the only way to stop the law, which has no exceptions for victims of rape or incest, was to pass Issue 1. 

In contrast, abortion opponents argued that the measure went too far and would prevent the state from enacting a consensus bill with exceptions. Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, who signed the six-week ban into law, campaigned heavily against Issue 1 and shot an ad urging Ohioans to vote “no.”  

In August, Ohio voters rejected a constitutional amendment proposed by the Republican-controlled legislature (also called Issue 1), which would’ve raised the threshold to amend the state constitution in the future. Measures related to abortion were on the ballot in six states in 2022, and the pro-abortion rights side won each time.

The ballot measure required a simple majority to be adopted.

According to preliminary results of CNN’s Ohio exit poll, roughly six in 10 voters who turned out for Tuesday’s election expressed negative feelings about the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. About three in 10 said abortion should be legal in all cases and about a third said that it should be legal in most cases. 

CNN’s Ethan Cohen, Molly Gahagen and Melissa DePalo contributed reporting to this post.

Andy Beshear speaks at the Democratic Party of Daviess County Headquarters during a bus tour across Kentucky on November 4.

Kentucky’s incumbent Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear is on track to flip — or run even — in a few smaller rural counties where former Republican Gov. Matt Bevin won in 2019, a campaign aide said Tuesday evening.

The aide noted it’s important to look at battleground counties with lots of votes like in Northern Kentucky: Kenton County, Campbell County and Boone County. 

Focusing on issues that impact everyone and bring people together in conservative areas seems to have panned out, the aide said.

Beshear often touts “vision vs. division.” Beshear is even gaining ground from the 2019 margin in Hardin County, home to opponent Republican Daniel Cameron, the aide added.

Beshear spent his final days on the trail in Western and Eastern Kentucky, as well as the major cities. 

Andy Beshear speaks to supporters during a stop of his statewide bus tour in Richmond, Kentucky on October 30.

Between Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear’s reelection campaign and outside Democratic groups, upwards of $48 million has been invested into advertisements in this nationally watched gubernatorial contest. 

Beshear’s team mobilized a diverse set of coalitions in order to turn out the vote in this off-year election. A mix of money and ground game has been key, Democrats say. 

Sierra Enlow, who is running for Kentucky’s Democratic Agriculture Commissioner, described it Tuesday night as a strategy of “investing in Democratic voters campaigns don’t usually talk to,” and stresses that these forgotten voters should have the attention of the national Democratic Party apparatus.

Democrats like Enlow say Kentucky serves as a proven test market for strategies employed this cycle like elevating women’s rights. 

Enlow says coalitions including college students and educators were also key. These are coalitions President Joe Biden will also have to rely on to win reelection.

Kentucky Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, center right, and wife, Britainy, greet supporters ahead of a gubernatorial debate with Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron at KET Network Center in Lexington, Kentucky, on October 23.

Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear will win reelection to a second term in Kentucky, CNN projects, defeating Republican Daniel Cameron in a deep-red state that Donald Trump carried by about 25 points in 2020.  

Beshear, one of the nation’s most popular governors and the only Democrat in statewide elected office in Kentucky, made abortion a major issue in his campaign. His reelection bid served as a critical test of how the fight over abortion rights since the overturning of Roe v. Wade will shape the political landscape ahead of the 2024 presidential election.   

While abortion is illegal in most cases in the Bluegrass State, Kentucky voters rejected a proposal last year to amend the state’s constitution to say that it does not “secure or protect a right” to abortion or the funding of abortion. Beshear attacked Cameron, the state attorney general, over his support for the state’s current law, which bans the procedure in all cases, except when the life of the mother is in jeopardy. The law does not include exceptions for cases of rape or incest. 

The issue drew national attention this fall when the Beshear campaign released an ad in which 21-year-old Hadley Duvall called out Cameron for failing to support exemptions to Kentucky’s abortion ban for cases of rape and incest, while recounting the trauma of being raped by her stepfather.   

“This is to you, Daniel Cameron,” she says in the ad, looking directly into a camera. “To tell a 12-year-old girl she must have the baby of her stepfather who raped her is unthinkable.” 

Democrats also worked to tie Cameron to Beshear’s predecessor, Republican Matt Bevin, on issues such as education and health care. Republicans, in turn, tried to nationalize the race by tying the governor to President Joe Biden and emphasizing Donald Trump’s endorsement of Cameron.  

Besides abortion, Beshear’s campaign also emphasized his leadership of the state through the Covid -19 pandemic, deadly tornadoes in 2021, and catastrophic flooding in 2022.   

Beshear, whose father was Kentucky governor for two terms, previously served as state attorney general before winning a narrow victory over Bevin in 2019. His first term has been marked by countless clashes with the GOP-controlled state legislature over education, public assistance and tax policy, among other things. With Republicans holding veto-proof supermajorities in both chambers, those clashes are likely to continue.  

A year before the 2024 election, not all Republicans are celebrating President Joe Biden’s low approval ratings and the challenging headwinds facing his re-election.

Here’s why: Biden’s weaknesses have all but erased a central argument of many of the Republican presidential candidates – that Donald Trump can’t win. 

Our new CNN poll, along with myriad other surveys, consistently show that Trump either defeats Biden or is within striking distance. That complicates the argument that GOP candidates had hoped to make on the debate stage in Miami tomorrow night. 

Tonight, a senior adviser to a Republican candidate explained it to me like this: “Biden’s pain has been Trump’s gain.”

It’s an amazing political loop: Trump’s weakness sent Biden to the White House. And Biden’s weaknesses have opened the door to Trump’s return.

As the Biden campaign monitors election results coming in tonight, they say one thing is already abundantly clear: Abortion remains top-of-mind for voters and a salient political issue. 

Last year, President Joe Biden and his allies said they were vindicated by the results of the midterm elections, which showed that abortion access proved to be a powerful, motivating force for their base.

They believe — based on where things stand tonight — that they are headed toward getting a similar validation; campaign advisers say there is no question that the issue will be a major part of Biden’s 2024 reelection argument. 

The Biden campaign is also feeling good about Kentucky and Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s prospects.

Campaign officials told CNN that if Beshear is victorious, it will show that Republican efforts to tie Beshear to Biden ultimately didn’t work. 

They are poised to take credit for Beshear having run effectively on the Biden administration’s accomplishments — including the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

What happens in Kentucky will ultimately offer Democrats some lessons for how to run a successful campaign when the leader of your party – the president – remains deeply unpopular.  

Governor Andy Beshear on the campaign trail at the University of Louisville on Thursday, November 2.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is currently performing stronger than he did four years ago in certain small rural counties, CNN’s John King said.

This is even the case in some Republican counties across the state where his challenger, GOP Attorney General Daniel Cameron, is winning.

Although votes are still being counted in Kentucky, the Democrat is leading votes against Cameron in the competitive race.

Joe Biden speaks in Bear, Delaware on November 6.

President Joe Biden’s advisers don’t deny that the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war last month has diverted the president’s attention at times over the past month away from his domestic agenda.

But they’ve also tried to make the case that the president’s focus on and handling of the situation in Israel and Gaza – in addition to the ongoing war in Ukraine – help demonstrate what they believe is core to Biden’s appeal: that he is an experienced leader on the world stage. And that experience, some of his advisers have argued, only comes with age.

Responding to Rep. Dean Phillips’ decision to jump into the presidential race and challenge Biden, Biden campaign co-chair Rep. Cedric Richmond told CNN that Phillips would not be able to sell his candidacy to “a whole bunch of voters who think wisdom and age is a good thing.”

But tonight’s CNN poll shows that just 25% of Americans say Biden has the stamina and sharpness to serve effectively as President, compared to 53% who believe that Trump does. And, just 36% of voters said in the survey that they see Biden as an effective world leader, compared to 48% who said the same of Trump.

As the Israel-Hamas war enters its second month, there continue to be many signs of how much the conflict has taken hold of the White House. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby continues to regularly appear at the White House press briefing; most days, protesters can be seen and heard near the White House; and Biden spoke on the phone with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday.

But tonight, advisers hope that Biden – who is watching election results with a handful of senior advisers at the White House residence – will be making phone calls to victorious Democratic candidates who are on the ballot.

Rhode Island Democratic candidate for the US House Gabe Amo, center, greets people during a campaign stop at a cafe on Monday in Providence, Rhode Island.

Former White House aide Gabe Amo will win the special election for Rhode Island’s 1st Congressional District, CNN projects, setting the Democrat up to be the first Black person to represent the state in Congress.    

Amo, the son of Ghanaian and Liberian immigrants, will defeat Republican Gerry Leonard Jr., a Marine Corps veteran, in the race to succeed former Democratic Rep. David Cicilline, who resigned in May to lead the Rhode Island Foundation.    

Amo has worked in both the Obama and Biden administrations. A former deputy director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs under Joe Biden, Amo won a crowded Democratic primary in September, which made him the heavy favorite for the general election in a seat that Biden would have carried by 29 points in 2020. 

He received endorsements from prominent Democrats during the primary campaign, including former Rep. Patrick Kennedy, who represented the 1st District for eight terms before Cicilline, and former White House chief of staff Ron Klain.  

He also had the backing of the campaign arm of the Congressional Black Caucus and Democrats Serve, which supports candidates with public service backgrounds. 

A Republican hasn’t represented the 1st District – which covers the eastern part of the state, including East and North Providence, Pawtucket and Portsmouth – since 1995.  

With Amo’s win, one US House seat remains vacant – Utah’s 2nd District. Republicans are expected to hold the seat in a special election scheduled for November 21.   

A voter carries her ballot to the counting machine after voting at a polling station in Richmond, Virginia on November 7.

In the Virginia Legislature election Republicans are currently leading in 43 House Delegate races while Democrats lead in 40, according to the Virginia Department of Elections.

In order to gain control of the chamber, a party needs to win 51 seats.

Meanwhile, the state Senate election is a bit tighter with Democrats leading in 17 races and Republicans leading in 18. To control the chamber, 21 seats are needed for a majority.

Democrats have had control of the state Senate while Republicans have had control of the House of Delegates.

Democratic mayoral candidate Cherelle Parker visits a polling place in Philadelphia, on Tuesday.

Democrat Cherelle Parker will be elected the 100th mayor of Philadelphia, CNN projects, becoming the first woman to lead the city.  

Parker entered the general election against Republican David Oh, a fellow former city council member, as the overwhelming favorite in the deep-blue city after securing the Democratic nomination in May amid a crowded primary field.  

She will succeed Democrat Jim Kenney, who is term-limited. Kenney said he voted for Parker in the primary, saying, “It’s time for a woman of color.”  

Much of the primary campaign focused on education and public safety, with Parker calling for an education reform package that would keep schools open longer each day and all year-round. She also campaigned on increasing the size of the city’s police department. However, Parker drew some backlash from progressives during the primary over her support for the use of “stop and frisk” tactics by police as part of their efforts to root out illegal guns and gun violence, so long as the practice follows constitutional guidelines.  

“It’s not an either-or,” Parker said in a debate during the primary. “You will be held accountable, we will also have reform, but we will use every tool in the toolbox to ensure that our city is safer and cleaner and greener.” 

In her winning primary campaign, Parker secured high-profile endorsements from influential labor organizations and the city’s Black political establishment. US Reps. Dwight Evans and Brendan Boyle, who represent parts of Philadelphia, also backed Parker.   

Parker previously served a decade in the Pennsylvania House, before her election to the Philadelphia City Council in 2015. She resigned last year when she entered the race for mayor.   

Kentucky’s Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear and Mississippi’s GOP Gov. Tate Reeves are fighting for another term in very competitive contests.

The Kentucky race is still too early to call, but at the moment, Beshear is ahead of GOP Attorney General Daniel Cameron. Beshear has 52.6% of the vote and Cameron has 47.1%.

In Mississippi, polls have closed in most of the state and results will start coming in soon. Reeves is seeking reelection against Democrat Brandon Presley, a second cousin of Elvis Presley who serves on the Mississippi Public Service Commission.

Voters fill in their ballots in Clinton, Mississippi on November 7.

It is 8 p.m. ET and polls are closing across most of Mississippi and all of Rhode Island, Houston and Philadelphia.

A Mississippi judge extended voting by one hour in Hinds County, citing several precincts running out of ballots. Polling places will now close at 9 p.m. ET in the county.

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves is seeking reelection against Democrat Brandon Presley, a second cousin of Elvis Presley who serves on the Mississippi Public Service Commission.

Rhode Island will hold a special election for Congressional District 1, which covers the eastern part of the state, including East and North Providence, Pawtucket and Portsmouth.

The House seat is currently vacant after Democratic Rep. David Cicilline resigned on May 31. Democrat Gabe Amo, a former White House aide, is facing Republican Gerry Leonard Jr. Democrats are highly favored to maintain control of the district, as Cicilline won 64% of the vote in 2022, the same share that President Joe Biden won in 2020.

Houston’s nonpartisan mayoral election will see Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and state Sen. John Whitmire, both Democrats, compete against a crowded field. Mayor Sylvester Turner can’t seek a third term due to term limits. A candidate must win a majority of the vote to be elected Houston mayor in this election. If no candidate does so, the top two candidates will advance to a runoff on December 9.

In Philadelphia, Democrat Cherelle Parker is heavily favored to win the city’s mayoral election against Republican David Oh. Incumbent Democratic Mayor Jim Kenney cannot run for reelection due to term limits.

As one voter fills out their ballot another signs in to vote on Election Day at Precinct 1 at the U.S. Military Entrance Processing Station in Jackson, Mississippi, on Tuesday.

A Mississippi judge extended voting by one hour in Hinds County, citing several precincts running out of ballots.

Polling places will now close at 9 p.m. ET in the county, the most populous in the state. Hinds County includes large portions of Jackson, the state capital, and is more than 70% Black, according to the US Census Bureau. 

The secretary of state’s office issued the following statement:

“I believe that the Secretary of State’s office and county elections office were simply not prepared for the overwhelming, amazing turnout we are seeing in Hinds County. We are not seeing any of these issues in any other precincts in any other counties, to this degree,” said Jason McCarty, a member of the Hinds County Democratic Party Executive Committee.

In Mississippi, Gov. Tate Reeves is seeking reelection against Democrat Brandon Presley, a second cousin of Elvis Presley who serves on the Mississippi Public Service Commission.

Presley has aggressively reached out to the state’s Black voters in his campaign. Nearly 40% of Mississippi’s population is African American, a greater share than any other state. And they lean heavily towards Democrats.

CNN’s Fredreka Schouten contributed reporting to this post.

Russell Coleman answers questions from the media before the start of the Kentucky Farm Bureau Ham Breakfast at the Kentucky State Fair in Louisville, Kentucky, in August 2022.

Republican Russell Coleman will be Kentucky’s next attorney general. A former US attorney for the Western District of Kentucky, he defeated Democratic state Rep. Pamela Stevenson.

Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams responds to the moderator before his interview on statewide television in Lexington, Kentucky, in May 2023.

Republican Michael Adams won a second term as Kentucky’s secretary of state. He defeated Democrat Charles “Buddy” Wheatley, a former member of the Kentucky House of Representatives.

A person votes during Election Day at Knox Presbyterian Church in Cincinnati.

It is 7:30 p.m. ET and polls are closing across Ohio.

Two measures are on the ballot in the state: Issue 1 would enshrine the right to abortion in the state constitution while Issue 2 would create a new law legalizing and regulating recreational marijuana.

Both of these ballot measures require a simple majority to be adopted.

In August, Ohio voters rejected a measure (also known as Issue 1) which would’ve made it harder to amend the state constitution. While that measure would not have impacted the marijuana measure, which creates a new law rather than amending the constitution, it would’ve made it harder to enact the abortion rights amendment. The August result was seen as a victory for supporters of abortion rights. 

Democratic voters in Kentucky who spoke to CNN are fired up about the state’s near-total abortion ban.

Even though Democratically leaning voters in key blue counties like Jefferson and Fayette would have likely supported incumbent Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear no matter his Republican opponent, the fierce focus on reproductive rights has galvanized some and made them pay attention in this off-year election.

The last time abortion was on the ballot, Kentucky voters rejected a measure aimed at denying any constitutional protections for abortion. And although many conservatives in Kentucky identify as anti-abortion the politics of the issue have become more fraught when discussing the lack of exceptions for rape and incest in the state.

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin greets voters as they head to the polls at Newton-Lee Elementary School on Tuesday.

During this election cycle Virginia’s Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin is relying on aggressively encouraging early voting, traveling into deep blue parts of the state and staying consistent with the message.

That’s the strategy as he works to help Republicans win the state House and Senate Tuesday, according to a source familiar with the Youngkin operation. 

While he’s not on the ballot, Youngkin is asking Virginia voters to give him a full Republican state legislature to advance his agenda.

It won’t come easy as Republicans will have to flip a number of seats in Democratic districts to make that happen. 

Unlike some national Republicans — chief among them former President Donald Trump —who has long spread lies and untruths about early voting and vote by mail, Youngkin and his team have made it a key part of their efforts. 

Youngkin appears to have the most to gain and the most to lose tonight as a win Tuesday night.

A win would likely see his star in the national Republican Party shine even brighter while failing to achieve full Republican control of the legislature would make it much harder to enshrine his legacy as governor and pass his key agenda items like a proposed 15-week abortion ban. 

These September 2020 file photos show Donald Trump, left, and Joe Biden during the first presidential debate at Case Western University and Cleveland Clinic, in Cleveland, Ohio. 

One year out from Election Day 2024, former President Donald Trump narrowly leads President Joe Biden, 49% to 45% among registered voters, in a hypothetical rematch in the latest CNN poll conducted by SSRS.

Biden’s reelection chances are buffeted by deeply negative approval ratings, a stagnant sense that things are going poorly in the United States, diminished support among key voter blocs, and a widespread sense that he is not up for the job.

In the potential rematch between Biden and Trump, neither candidate has much room for growth.

All told, 51% of voters nationwide say there is no chance at all that they would vote for Biden, and just 4% are not currently supporting him but say there is a chance they will. Nearly half, 48%, say there is no chance they will vote for Trump, and only 2% that they aren’t currently backing him but would consider it.

Primary matchups for both parties suggest a Biden vs. Trump election is the most likely scenario as of now. 

Trump’s narrow advantage over Biden comes even as public perceptions of the former president remain deeply negative. But the poll suggests Biden’s image is even worse, and those with negative views of both candidates break in Trump’s favor.

While those who actually turn out to vote are not the same as registered voters, and with a full year to go before the election, there is time for voters’ views to shift, the differences between then and now are stark.

Read more.

Issue 1 activists in Ohio will find out tonight if abortion can rise above partisanship, or at least persuade across party lines, in a Republican-controlled state. 

Abortion choice forces, while leaning on Democratic groups and activists, have tried to appeal to independents and Republicans with a message of “keeping government out of their business,” said Gabriel Mann, spokesman for Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights.

Mann, who is from a rural region of Ohio, said his coalition has tried to keep its message as non-partisan as possible to win over Libertarians and Republicans.

If Issue 1 passes, Ohio would be the first Republican-controlled state to enshrine the right to abortion into its state constitution.

Anti-Issue 1 forces have hit a similar tone, arguing the state constitution should not be altered, regardless of what party the voter comes from.

“Whether pro-life or pro-choice, we’ve been arguing that Ohioans don’t want it cemented in the constitution,” said Amy Natoce, spokeswoman for Protect Women Ohio, an anti-Issue 1 group.

Some more context: Ohio’s Issue 1 ballot measure would add a section to the state constitution to guarantee the right to an abortion up until fetal viability. Abortion in Ohio is currently legal up to 22 weeks into a pregnancy, following a Cincinnati judge blocking a six-week ban last year.

A “yes” vote is in support of abortion rights and a “no” vote is against abortion rights. The measure needs to get more than 50% support to pass.

It is 7 p.m ET and polls are now closing statewide in Kentucky and Virginia.

The marquee race in Kentucky is for governor, where incumbent Democrat Andy Beshear is hoping to defy the political odds in this deeply Republican state with a win over GOP Attorney General Daniel Cameron. If Cameron wins, he’d be Kentucky’s first Black governor and the nation’s first Black Republican elected governor.

Kentucky is in both the Eastern and Central time zones. Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. local time.

In Virginia, while there are no statewide races on the ballot, every legislator in the commonwealth is up for reelection. If Republicans can maintain control of the House of Delegates and overcome the narrow Democratic majority in the Senate of Virginia, Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s party would have full control of state government for the first time in a decade.

Abortion has been a major issue in the campaigns, as Democrats pitch themselves as the last defense against the 15-week abortion ban Youngkin has promoted. Education has come to the fore in the final weeks of the campaign, as advertisers from both parties have produced more unique ads referencing education than either abortion or crime, according to AdImpact data. The fight over Virginia schools was a major issue in the state’s 2021 election when Youngkin flipped the governor’s mansion and the House of Delegates.

These will be the first elections in Virginia conducted under the state’s post-2020 census legislative maps. During the 2020 election, Virginia voters approved a redistricting reform which created a commission made up of both citizens and politicians. However, the commission stalemated and the state Supreme Court drew maps instead. Those maps didn’t take incumbency into consideration, so many sitting members of the legislature ended up in unfamiliar districts or paired with their colleagues.

Mississippi Democratic nominee for governor Brandon Presley speaks to reporters on Monday in Jackson, Mississippi.

Democrat Brandon Presley, a second cousin of Elvis Presley who serves on the Mississippi Public Service Commission, is leaning hard on name recognition from his relative and says his campaign is experiencing momentum in the weeks leading up to Election Day. 

The governor’s race in Mississippi — a deep red state that voted for former President Donald Trump by double digits — is seen as closer than initially expected. 

Presley is banking on his populist message and name recognition to do what hasn’t been done in two decades: Knock a Republican out of the governor’s mansion. 

Reeves is unpopular in part due to a massive welfare scandal that Presley has relentlessly tied to the governor.

But Reeves has worked to convince voters, even enlisting the help of Trump in an election eve tele-rally, that the Democrat has stronger ties to President Joe Biden than Elvis. 

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin gestures as he talks with reporters after greeting voters at a polling station on Tuesday.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, told CNN’s Dana Bash that he supports a bill in his state to ban abortions after 15 weeks with exceptions, while also calling Democratic policies on abortion “way too extreme for Virginians.”

“And I think it was really important for folks to understand that this is a choice between no limits and reasonable limits,” Youngkin said Tuesday night on CNN.

In the 16 months since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, all states across the South have restricted or banned abortions except one: Virginia.

On Tuesday, Virginia voters will decide who will control the state legislature, which is currently divided between Republicans and Democrats each controlling one chamber. If Republicans win full control of the legislature, it would pave the way for Youngkin to push through a conservative agenda, including restrictions to abortion.

Youngkin has said he would sign legislation to outlaw abortions after 15 weeks, with exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother. The current Democratic majority in Virginia’s state senate has already blocked an attempt at such a restriction earlier this year.

Youngkin told CNN Tuesday night that “across Virginia, while I know abortion is an important topic, the number one topic that I hear over and over again is how the Biden economy is making life so difficult.”

Youngkin said he will not endorse a candidate in the Republican presidential primary and dismissed questions about his possible entrance into the primary by saying he’s “focused on Virginia.”

The governor said he will support the eventual Republican nominee for president but does not plan to endorse a candidate beforehand.

“I’m not going to endorse anyone. I think that voters should choose who the nominee is, and then of course I will support the Republican nominee,” Youngkin said.

He downplayed speculation around him mounting a late entrance into the presidential primary amid reports that some Republican donors have urged Youngkin, who flipped the governor’s seat in 2021 a year after President Biden carried the state, to run in 2024.

CNN’s Christopher Hickey contributed reporting to this post.

Kentucky Attorney General and Republican candidate for governor Daniel Cameron speaks to supporters during a stop on his statewide bus tour on October 31, in London, Kentucky.

Former President Donald Trump’s team will have an eye on the Kentucky governor’s race tonight, watching to see if GOP Attorney General Daniel Cameron can pull off an upset and unseat incumbent Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear in the deep-red state.

Cameron sought out Trump’s endorsement and the former president appeared in multiple advertisements for Cameron, who has fully embraced being a MAGA candidate.

Late Tuesday, after a chaotic day in court, Trump participated in a tele-rally for Cameron.

While Trump’s team is aware that it is an uphill battle for Cameron, there is still keen interest in how he does, which they think could give some insight into Trump’s standing in the current political landscape.

While Trump has endorsed other candidates, including embattled Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, his team believes he will get credit for a Cameron win and reinforce Trump’s sway within the GOP.

Republican presidential candidates – and party leaders – are keeping a particularly close eye on the outcomes of elections in Virginia and Ohio tonight, eager to see whether the issue of abortion remains politically challenging for the GOP heading into the 2024 campaign cycle.

Mindful of the political landmines abortion created in the 2022 midterm election cycle, Republicans are hoping the issue has receded in its potency, but that’s far from certain.

Former Gov. Nikki Haley, for example, has sought to carve something of a middle ground on abortion. Donald Trump, too, has intentionally steered clear of focusing on abortion, telling advisers and allies that he sees it as a political loser for the party.

From a 30,000-foot view, as Republicans work to seize control of the Senate, hold their narrow majority in the House and win the White House, the saliency of abortion is front and center in the minds of nearly all Republican strategists tonight.

Dr. Eva Jackson, second from right, signs in to vote at Greater Harvest Baptist Church in Jackson, Mississippi, on Tuesday.

For the first time since 1890, voting for governor in Mississippi will be determined by only the popular vote — and some Democratic officials are paying close attention to Black voter turnout. 

In 2020, Mississippi amended the state constitution to reform the way statewide officials, including governors, are elected. Under the old system, which dated to the state’s 1890 constitution, candidates needed to win a majority of the popular vote and a majority of state house districts.

Voting rights groups had long argued the system diluted the Black vote, in a state that has the highest percentage of Black residents in the nation. 

The state legislature and voters replaced the old process with the requirement that a candidate win a majority of the popular vote or else face a runoff. 

While the Democratic candidate, Brandon Presley, says his base is a diverse collection of voters and he is focused on every part of the state— other Democrats in Mississippi are closely watching turnout in places like Jackson and the Delta, where more Black voters live. 

Top White House officials and the Biden campaign are watching tonight’s results as a litmus test for the 2024 election.

Officials are gleaning what they can about Democratic enthusiasm and the potency of issues like abortion, as they prepare to ramp up towards next year’s general election fight. 

This comes as advisers to President Joe Biden and the campaign are besieged by questions and concerns about whether the president should seek a second term — particularly on vivid display this week after a series of battleground state polls suggested that he would lag behind former President Donald Trump in a hypothetical match-up. 

The campaign is publicly batting away those questions in no uncertain terms, and turning to a classic Biden campaign defense: They are used to being underestimated. 

But privately, Biden officials acknowledge that on some of the most significant concerns on Biden’s candidacy — including his age and his stewardship of the economy — their hands are largely tied. 

There’s nothing that can change Biden’s age. The widespread mood of economic pessimism — stubbornly set in even as US economic data has been strong — will simply require more time to abate, senior White House officials say. 

People gather in the parking lot of the Hamilton County Board of Elections as people arrive for early in-person voting in Cincinnati, on Thursday, November 2.

Activists on both sides of Ohio’s Issue 1, which would enshrine the right to abortion in the state, are still pounding the pavements tonight trying to get voters to the polls.

Activists see tonight’s results setting the tone for the impact of abortion on 2024 races.

Natoce said the focus for anti-Issue 1 forces is the rural and independent regions of the state, from the south and northwest to the conservative pockets of Youngstown. 

Pro-Issue 1 forces held a final canvassing event in Columbus today, knocking on doors and urging voters to head to the polls in this off-year election.

Gabriel Mann, spokesperson for Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights, said turnout for the early vote was higher than expected. 

On Election Day, Mann said the Democratic strongholds saw lines, as expected, which is a positive sign for the pro-Issue 1 forces. As far as tonight, Mann says the initial results will “take off like a rocket.”

Early votes – which are counted first – tend to favor Democrats and supporters of abortion rights.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear speaks to the press and supporters on his last campaign stop before the election on November 6, in Louisville, Kentucky.

Incumbent Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear will watch part of the returns tonight at the governor’s mansion with his family in Frankfort, Kentucky, according to a campaign aide.

With upwards of 300,000 Kentuckians voting early and a steady stream of voters at polling locations throughout the state today, Democrats say they feel confident Beshear will be reelected.

They point to his messaging which focuses less on partisanship and more on how Kentuckians are all part of the same team.

It is this strategy they say helped them capture some of Donald Trump’s voters four years ago and will allow them to continue to peel away some of those voters again.

GOP operatives note that the math for Beshear has always been tricky given the state’s strong Republican leaning and they believe he will need to come out of blue Jefferson County with a sizable margin.

In 2019, Beshear won the county by nearly 100,000 votes.

Renesha Watkins fills out her ballot at a fire station while her daughter Melanie Bolton waits for her on November 7, in Louisville, Kentucky.

It is 6 p.m ET and polls are closing in parts of Kentucky.

The marquee race in the state is for governor, where incumbent Democrat Andy Beshear is hoping to defy the political odds in this deeply Republican state with a win over GOP Attorney General Daniel Cameron.

If Cameron wins, he’d be Kentucky’s first Black governor and the first Black Republican elected governor in the United States. CNN will also have coverage of the other statewide races, including those for attorney general and secretary of state.

Kentucky is in both the Eastern and Central time zones. Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. local time.

People attend a rally held by Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio, on October 8.

Roughly six in 10 Ohio voters express negative feelings about the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, similar to sentiments among midterm voters in Ohio last year.

About four in 10 call themselves outright angry about it, roughly double the share of those who are enthusiastic about the court’s 2022 decision.

About 45% of female voters say they’re angry, compared with about a third of male voters. 

The Ohio electorate turning out for the vote largely favors legal abortion – roughly three in 10 say the procedure should be legal in all cases and about a third that it should be legal in most cases, similar to the 2022 electorate.

About three in 10 say it should be legal in all cases, and about one-tenth that it should never be legal, but the majority of the electorate stands somewhere in between. Notably, while Democrats lead Republicans when it comes to which party voters trust to handle abortion, it’s by only a single-digit margin.

Two measures are on the ballot in this election in Ohio. One of them, Issue 1, would enshrine the right to an abortion in the state constitution, while Issue 2 would create a new law legalizing and regulating recreational marijuana.

The Ohio CNN Exit Poll is a combination of in-person interviews with Election Day voters and early in-person voters, along with telephone and online polls measuring the views of absentee by-mail and early voters.

It was conducted by Edison Research on behalf of the National Election Pool. In-person interviews on Election Day were conducted at a random sample of 35 Ohio polling locations among 668 Election Day voters and at a random sample of 10 early in-person voting locations, among 1,188 early in-person voters. The results also include 842 interviews with early and absentee voters conducted by phone, online or by text.

Results for the full sample have a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points; it is larger for subgroups.

In the 16 months since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, all states across the South have restricted or banned abortions except one: Virginia.

On Tuesday, Virginia voters will decide who will control the state legislature, which is currently divided between Republicans and Democrats each controlling one chamber. If Republicans win full control of the legislature, it would pave the way for Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin to push through a conservative agenda, including restrictions to abortion.

Youngkin has said he would sign legislation to outlaw abortions after 15 weeks, with exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother. The current Democratic majority in Virginia’s state senate has already blocked an attempt at such a restriction earlier this year.

Read more here.

President Joe Biden and his team at the White House are closely watching Tuesday’s elections to determine what – if anything – can be discerned about the electorate a year out from the presidential contest.

Amid a fresh round of troubling polls and Democratic hand-wringing, few, if any, Democrats on the ballot Tuesday have tied themselves to Biden, even as some embrace his accomplishments. The president himself has not campaigned at all this election season, focused instead on foreign crises and promoting his own agenda – miles away from any competitive race.

Yet some of the very issues Biden’s campaign believes will define next year’s contest – including abortion rights and the economy – are being weighed both directly and indirectly. For the president and his advisers, Tuesday’s results will be a test of those issues’ saliency heading into 2024.

And Tuesday’s key races will provide clues that Biden’s team will look to as they calibrate their strategy. Turnout among young people and minorities, crucial to Biden’s coalition, will be closely watched as polls indicate a dramatic softening of support.

Read more about this here.

Mississippi Democratic gubernatorial candidate Brandon Presley speaks to reporters during a campaign stop on November 6, in Jackson, Mississippi.

Brandon Presley, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate in Mississippi, told CNN at his last campaign stop in Jackson that he is more in touch with the people of the state than incumbent Republican Gov. Tate Reeves.

Presley said his campaign has worked to gain support from Republicans and Democrats and that his focus has been on the issues within the state — not national politics.

“This campaign has never been about national politics. He’s trying to make it that way. It’s been about the issues in our state,” Presley said.

He added, “The issues in Mississippi are not about right and left, it’s about those of us that have been pushed on the outside versus a hand select little few led by Tate Reeves on the inside,” Presley said.

Presley also called out Reeves’ lack of action on the state’s high food tax. “Tate Reeves has been a very low-energy governor. He doesn’t have any guts and backbone. I’m willing to stand up and fight,” he said.

Reeves, who is seeking a second term, is knee-deep in a corruption scandal as the state faces another health-care crisis. Presley is banking on Reeves’ foibles, a famous name — Elvis Presley was a second cousin — and a promise to expand Medicaid while cutting regressive grocery taxes.

A voter fills out their ballot in Columbus, Ohio, on Tuesday.

Two measures are on the ballot in Ohio: one on abortion and another on marijuana.

Ohio’s Issue 1 would add a section to the state constitution titled “The Right to Reproductive Freedom with Protections for Health and Safety.” It would guarantee the right to abortion, although the state would be allowed to prohibit it after fetal viability, except in cases of the life or health of the mother.

The determinations of viability and the life or health of the mother would both be made by the mother’s physician. It also includes protections for other reproductive decisions, including contraception and fertility treatment.

Abortion in Ohio is currently legal up to 22 weeks into a pregnancy, but only because a Cincinnati judge last year blocked a six-week abortion ban. Supporters of the measure have pitched it as a question of personal freedom, while opponents argue it goes too far.

Ohio voters will also decide on whether or not to legalize recreational marijuana. If Issue 2 is approved, Ohio would become the 24th state to legalize recreational marijuana.

The measure would legalize and regulate the cultivation, possession, sale, purchase and use of marijuana for adults 21 years and older. It would also tax marijuana sales and use that money to fund several programs, including a “cannabis social equity and jobs program.”

Ohio voters rejected a marijuana legalization ballot measure in 2015, but the state legislature legalized medical marijuana the next year.

Both of these ballot measures require a simple majority to be adopted.

In August, Ohio voters rejected a measure which would’ve made it harder to amend the state Constitution. While that measure would not have impacted the marijuana measure, which creates a new law rather than amending the constitution, it would’ve made it harder to enact the abortion rights amendment.

The August result was seen as a victory for supporters of abortion rights. 

And Ohio isn’t the bellwether it used to be, as Trump-era Republicans have made major gains in traditionally Democratic blue-collar counties.

Early voters were at the polling center at Valley High School in Louisville, Kentucky, on Tuesday morning.

Abortion rights are on the ballot Tuesday as Americans head to the polls for state and local races that will set the stage for next year’s presidential election.

Fiercely fought contests in Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Ohio could offer a 2024 roadmap for both parties.

Democrats have largely succeeded in running on the issue in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s decision last year to overturn Roe v. Wade, which effectively punted abortion law to the states. For the most part, they have done so by framing the debate as one of personal freedom – and leaving Republicans to haggle over the politically painful particulars.

A victory for abortion rights advocates in Ohio – where voters could enshrine a constitutional amendment protecting abortion access – along with success in high-stakes races for governor, the state Supreme Court and control of the state legislature in other states, could further demonstrate the potency of the issue.

Meanwhile, the gubernatorial election in Mississippi asks a different question: Is it still possible for a Democrat to win a statewide race in the deepest of deep-red states?

Republican Gov. Tate Reeves, who is seeking a second term, is knee-deep in a corruption scandal as the state faces another health-care crisis. Democrat Brandon Presley is banking on Reeves’ foibles, a famous name – Elvis Presley was a second cousin – and a promise to expand Medicaid while cutting regressive grocery taxes. (Both oppose abortion rights.)

Other intense – and expensive – campaigns will be decided in Pennsylvania, where abortion is again top of mind with a seat on the state Supreme Court in the balance, and in New Jersey and New York, where Democrats’ strength will be tested.

Philadelphia and Houston will also go to the polls to elect new mayors. Former City Councilmember Cherelle Parker is poised to become Philadelphia’s first female mayor, while Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee is running neck-and-neck with state Sen. John Whitmire in Houston. That race could go to a run-off.

And in Rhode Island, favored Democrat Gabe Amo and Republican Gerry Leonard Jr. square off in a special election to complete the term of Democratic former Rep. David Cicilline.

Read more about what to watch for in Tuesday’s elections.

Across the country, voters are having their say in various state and local races.

While we’re not seeing many of the long lines often seen during presidential contests or midterms, plenty of voters are heading to the polls to make sure their voices are heard. Here’s a look at some eye-catching photos of Americans who are fulfilling their civic duty today:

Yvette Murray places a sticker on her shirt after submitting her ballot Tuesday in Cincinnati.

Election officials adjust a sign at the Wissahickon Valley Public Library in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania.

A person votes at the Knox Presbyterian Church in Cincinnati.

Voters wait in line at the Doña Ana County Government Building in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

Voters are greeted by poll workers as they arrive to cast their ballots in Pella, Iowa.

A voter walks into a polling location in Louisville, Kentucky.

Tuesday will be the last major election day until the presidential primaries begin in January. The elections could also foreshadow the mood of the electorate heading into 2024.

Abortion will be on the ballot in Ohio, where we’ll see if the issue continues to be the motivating force it’s been since 2022.

In Kentucky, a Democratic incumbent governor will try to win a second term in a deeply Republican state, and control of both chambers of Virginia’s legislature is up for grabs, as candidates test the strength of messages that will resonate throughout 2024.

There’s also a race for governor in Mississippi, a special election in the US House in Rhode Island and mayoral elections in Houston and Philadelphia. 

Here’s when polls will close tonight (all times ET):

Residents line up to cast their ballots during early voting on November 3, in Columbus, Ohio. 

States and cities holding elections today have different rules when it comes to mail-in ballots and early voting.

Here’s where each place stands and how ballots are processed:

Nanette Mees is a registered Republican and a textbook example of Virginia’s shift from red to blue.

Her last Republican vote for president was in 2004, which is also the last time a GOP presidential nominee – George W. Bush back then – carried suburban Loudoun County and the commonwealth.

In the nearly two decades since, Mees voted for Barack Obama twice, Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden.

“I mean, abortion, guns – those are two big things,” said Mees, explaining her choice to vote Democratic in the past four presidential elections.

She is prepared to extend that streak to five next November, but not without hesitation.

“I don’t think he is the perfect one,” Mees said of Biden. “But if I have to pick between him and [Donald] Trump, who I would never, ever, ever vote for, it would be Biden. I would just pray.”

That choice is a year away.

A more immediate choice will also have significant national ripples – Tuesday’s legislative elections in Virginia, where control of the state House and Senate is at stake. The outcome will impact America’s abortion debate, its broader political fight for supremacy in the suburbs and the ambitions of the commonwealth’s Republican governor, Glenn Youngkin.

“Hold the House, flip the Senate” has been Youngkin’s mantra campaigning for GOP candidates in the run-up to Tuesday. The governor, who is about halfway through his term and not on the ballot, sees himself as a Republican who appeals to both the GOP’s Trump base and suburban voters.

And he thinks he can maintain that appeal while pushing new abortion restrictions, promising that if Republicans take full control of the legislature, they will pass and he will sign legislation to outlaw abortions after 15 weeks, with exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother.

His Spirit of Virginia political action committee has spent heavily, and Youngkin’s rallies across the state look very much like a presidential test run. The legislative candidates get a few minutes to make their case, and then Youngkin promises, if given a Republican legislature, to cut taxes, boost police spending and give parents more rights over school curricula.

“The other side is so afraid of losing Virginia totally because in 24 months we’ve turned this state from blue to red,” Youngkin said at a rally last month in Henrico County.

Missing from his rally speeches: any mention of abortion.

The governor rejects the idea that he omits abortion because of worries his proposal will alienate swing voters.

Read more about the Virginia election and abortion debate.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear speaks to supporters during a stop of his statewide bus tour in Richmond, Kentucky, on October 30.

In a get out the vote rally on the eve of Election Day, Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear told supporters the outcome of Kentucky’s governor’s race will send a strong message to the nation. 

Speaking to a packed crowd at a brewery in Lexington, he reiterated his desire for bipartisanship, arguing there is no such thing as a Democrat or Republican bridge or red or blue clean drinking water. 

“While I run as a proud Democrat, the moment I win, I take that hat off and I serve every single Kentucky family,” Beshear said.

“We’ve been through a lot, a pandemic, tornadoes, floods, wind storms, ice storms, yet still, we are standing here tonight, more optimistic, more enthusiastic, more energetic about our future than any time in my lifetime,” he added.

Beshear voiced his commitment to public education and called for universal pre-K and pay raises for teachers. He urged supporters to continue canvassing, telling the crowd he only won by one and half vote per precinct in 2019. Beshear won election in 2019 by about 5,000 votes.  

Meanwhile, Beshear’s challenger, Attorney General Daniel Cameron, held a rally Monday evening in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, where he grew up as a child. 

At an earlier news conference in Louisville, Cameron told reporters Beshear’s proximity to President Joe Biden is a liability. 

“The more people learn about Andy Beshear’s record, the more people dislike what they hear,” said Cameron. 

Cameron also aimed to appeal to Democrats who he argued don’t share Beshear’s values. 

A wave of departures by election officials in key states risks adding new stress to the nation’s election system ahead of next year’s presidential contest, voting rights groups and several state election chiefs warn.

The growing alarm over the resignations and retirements comes as officials say election workers continue to face a barrage of threats and harassment and partisan interference in their duties, first ignited by false claims of a stolen White House election in 2020.

In one region alone — across 11 Western states — more than 160 top local election officials have left their positions since November 2020, according to a regional case study by Issue One, a nonprofit watchdog group tracking the departures. In the counties with new election chiefs in those states, the typical level of experience has dropped from about eight years to one, the analysis found.

In the battleground state of Arizona — which became a hotbed for election falsehoods after Joe Biden flipped the traditional GOP stronghold by a little more than 10,000 votes — 12 of the state’s 15 county election chiefs have departed since the 2020 election, including one whose dogs were poisoned as a “means of intimidation,” said Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, a Democrat elected last year.

Other parts of the country are seeing a similar brain drain.

In Pennsylvania — another presidential battleground — nearly 70 county election directors or assistant directors in at least 40 of the state’s 67 counties have left their jobs since January 2020, according to the state’s appointed elections chief, Republican Al Schmidt.

“It’s a national emergency,” Nick Penniman, Issue One’s CEO, told CNN. “If any private-sector company experienced this amount of loss this quickly, they would probably go bankrupt.”

Read more about the ride of election workers resigning.

Ohio voters will decide Tuesday whether to support recreational marijuana in their state. If Issue 2 passes with a majority vote, it would be the 24th state with legal recreational use. Ohio is one of 38 states that already have a comprehensive policy allowing for medicinal use.

Most states allowing for recreational use passed it through the ballot box: Ohio would be the 16th state to legalize that way. But in recent years, more state legislatures have taken up the issue. Minnesota was the most recent state legislature to do so. Recreational marijuana became legal there in August.

Legalization policies, both medical and recreational, exist in a legal gray area, with variation between states in regulation and taxation. For example, in Washington, DC, Congress stepped in to stop legal sales, so possession is allowed, but sales are technically not. A few other states that do not have comprehensive medical programs do allow for small amounts for medicinal use, under very strict circumstances.

Currently, 23 states and Washington DC, have passed legal adult recreational use policies. Read more about the state of legal marijuana nationwide here.

Brandon Presley speaks at a news conference in May in Jackson, Mississippi.

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves is seeking reelection against Democrat Brandon Presley, a second cousin of Elvis Presley who serves on the Mississippi Public Service Commission.

In 2020, Mississippi amended the state constitution to reform the way statewide officials, including governors, are elected. Under the old system, which dated to the state’s 1890 constitution, candidates needed to win a majority of the popular vote and a majority of state house districts.

During 2019 litigation, a federal judge wrote that he had “grave concern” that the rule was unconstitutional, but he gave the state an opportunity to address it. The next year the state legislature and voters replaced that process with the requirement that a candidate win a majority of the popular vote or else face a runoff.

This year marks the first governor’s race under the new system.

Independent candidate Gwendolyn Gray dropped out of the race in October and endorsed Presley, but her name will remain on the ballot. Gray’s presence on the ballot means that it’s possible, if unlikely, that neither Reeves nor Presley will win a majority of the vote, which would then force a runoff on November 28.

While Mississippi is considered a deeply Republican state, GOP Reeves is facing a tougher-than-expected challenge from Presley, who calls himself “pro-life” and emphasizes his faith while also making an economic appeal to working voters by pledging to cut taxes and expand Medicaid.

While Reeves opposes Medicaid expansion, he has proposed a nearly $700 million plan to support the state’s struggling hospitals. He’s also campaigned on Mississippi’s education improvement.

Reeves also has tried to accuse Presley of having out-of-state interests. And in television ads, Reeves links Presley to President Joe Biden on issues like gender-affirming care and immigration.

Meanwhile, Presley has tried to link Reeves to the state’s wide-ranging welfare fraud scandal, which took place when Reeves was lieutenant governor. While Reeves’ name is frequently mentioned in legal proceedings, he has never been officially accused of any wrongdoing and has denied any involvement.

Today’s elections could serve as a litmus test of what voters care about ahead of the 2024 presidential election, as new polls also shed light on how things are shaping up.

Former President Donald Trump holds an edge over President Joe Biden in a series of hypothetical matchups among registered voters in four key swing states, new polling from The New York Times and Siena College shows.

In Nevada, a state Biden narrowly carried in the 2020 presidential election, Trump boasts 52% support to Biden’s 41%. Trump also tops Biden in Georgia, a state that was central to his ploy to overturn the last presidential election, with 49% to Biden’s 43%.

Trump leads Biden in Arizona, too, with 49% to the president’s 44%. In Michigan, Trump holds a 5-point lead as well: 48% to Biden’s 43%.

Each poll has a margin of sampling error between 4.4 and 4.8 points, and the head-to-head matchup remains theoretical — primary voting does not begin until next year. Trump overwhelmingly remains the Republican front-runner, while Biden, who drew a primary challenge from Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips last month, is heavily favored for the Democratic nomination.

The latest battleground state polling underscores the considerable challenges facing Biden’s reelection bid, including low job approval ratings and questions about his age and ability to steer the country. The poll results are especially striking for Biden given Trump’s mounting legal troubles. The former president faces 91 criminal charges across four indictments. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Biden campaign spokesman Kevin Munoz downplayed the polling in a statement Sunday, telling CNN: “Predictions more than a year out tend to look a little different a year later.”

“Coming off those historic (2022) midterms, President Biden’s campaign is hard at work reaching and mobilizing our diverse, winning coalition of voters one year out on the choice between our winning, popular agenda and MAGA Republicans’ unpopular extremism. We’ll win in 2024 by putting our heads down and doing the work, not by fretting about a poll,” Munoz said.

Read more about the polling.

Gabe Amo, center, greets people outside of a cafe in Providence during a campaign stop on Monday.

Rhode Island will hold a special election for Congressional District 1, which covers the eastern part of the state, including East and North Providence, Pawtucket and Portsmouth.

The House seat is currently vacant after Democratic Rep. David Cicilline resigned on May 31 in order to run the Rhode Island Foundation. Democrat Gabe Amo, a former White House aide, is facing Republican Gerry Leonard, a Marine Corps veteran.

If elected, Amo will be the first Black person to represent Rhode Island in Congress. Him coming to Congress would cut the narrow Republican majority in the House even further to just 221 Republicans to 213 Democrats. Republicans are expected to reclaim the last vacant seat after a special election in Utah on November 21. 

But Democrats are highly favored to maintain control of Congressional District 1, as Cicilline won 64% of the vote in 2022, the same share that President Joe Biden won in 2020. 

Lines are snaking outside a Columbus, Ohio, polling location as voting hit the lunch hour. The number of voters coming to the Whetstone Community Center was high, say poll workers, for an off-year election.

The driving force for Aleks Shaulov to come and vote, he says, was Issue 1, enshrining abortion rights into the state constitution.

“We’re living in weird times and sometimes you don’t feel heard,” said Shaulov, noting he voted in favor of Issue 1. “You try to do your part. We’re hoping to change things for the better. This is one way to do it.”

Legalizing recreational marijuana is also a key issue on the Ohio ballot today — but that’s not the driving reason Patricia Galan came to vote.

Early vote figures from the Ohio Secretary of State showed robust interest in the off-year November vote ahead of Election Day, outpacing the special election in August.

Voters in August rejected a proposed change to the state constitution that would have made it harder to pass future amendments in the state, like the abortion measure being voted on today. With that failure in August, Issue 1 proponents need a simple majority for the measure to pass tonight.

Voters line up to cast their ballots in Ashburn, Virginia, on Tuesday.

If you’re like most Americans, you couldn’t care less about elections held the year before a presidential contest.

Only a few states — all with relatively small populations — have statewide contests for elective offices this year. Virginia and New Jersey are holding elections for their state legislatures. 

Ohio voters will decide on two ballot initiatives. And several cities will be electing mayors.

But before you dismiss Tuesday’s elections out of hand, I want to draw your attention to what will be perhaps the last best test for both parties heading into 2024.

Election results for the Virginia Legislature over the past few cycles have been shown to correlate with what happens in the following year’s national elections.

So a good showing for either party Tuesday would bode well for that party next year.

Consider what happened in 2019. Democrats were able to flip both chambers of the Virginia Legislature. The following year Democrat Joe Biden won the presidency.

In 2021, Republicans retook the Virginia House. That was followed by the GOP winning back the US House of Representatives in 2022.

The Virginia Senate wasn’t up in 2021 — state senators face their voters every four years. Still, the party that controls the Virginia Senate going into the presidential election has gone on to win the presidency every year but once since 1999. That one time was in 2011, when the two parties ended up tied in the state Senate, with the Republican lieutenant governor serving as the tie-breaker.

This year, both parties are in position to win control of either one or both legislative bodies in Virginia. Democrats hold the thinnest of majorities in the state Senate, while Republicans narrowly control the state House.

An October Washington Post-Schar poll found Democrats with a 2-point advantage — well within the margin of error — on the generic House ballot in Virginia. (The generic ballot usually asks respondents some form of the following question: “If the elections for the Legislature were held today, would you vote for the Democratic or Republican party?)

That 2-point edge is a far cry from 2019, when Democrats easily won the popular vote for both the Virginia House and Senate.

Still, it’s better than Democrats’ 2021 performance in the state House popular vote. And it makes sense given what we’re seeing in national surveys. The two front-runners for their party nominations — Biden and former President Donald Trump — are close in the 2024 polls.

Read more about how Tuesday’s elections are a test for 2024.

Mississippi gubernatorial candidate Brandon Presley cast his ballot Tuesday morning in his hometown of Nettleton, where he was once the mayor. 

The Democratic candidate posted a photo of himself, with his wife, holding “I voted” stickers on his social media accounts. 

“Katelyn and I have cast our ballots in Nettleton and are now headed all over the state to bring home a win! Let’s all get out and vote!” he posted on X, the site formerly known as Twitter. He also included a post with an election protection phone number, telling voters to call with questions or concerns about voting. 

Presley — a second cousin of Elvis Presley — is scheduled to make roughly half a dozen stops on Tuesday at canvassing events, small businesses and polling places as he makes the roughly three-hour journey from Nettleton to Jackson for his Election Night party. 

When polls close on Tuesday, Ohio will either become the latest state to enshrine abortion rights into its constitution or enter a period of uncertainty as the state Supreme Court considers allowing a six-week abortion ban to be enforced.

For Joel Spring, a 33-year-old from West Chester, neither option seems ideal.

Spring said he’s “pro-life” but also thinks “we have to have some legal abortion,” with a cutoff somewhere in the first or second trimester. The state’s six-week ban went too far, he said, but so does Issue 1, a ballot initiative that would prevent the state from restricting abortion access before fetal viability, which doctors generally consider to be around 22 to 24 weeks of pregnancy.

“I think there needs to be a balance. Unfortunately, when it comes to the issue of abortion, you’re either one extreme or the other,” Spring, who voted “no” on the abortion amendment, said after casting his ballot early at his local county board of elections. “I don’t really know what the solution is.”

What’s at stake: Ohio’s Issue 1 could drastically reshape reproductive rights in a state where Republican leaders have proposed legislation to completely ban abortion post-Roe. But it will also serve as a bellwether for 2024, suggesting what strategies and messages will resonate most with voters during a general election in which Democrats will make abortion a key issue.

After a string of defeats in last year’s midterm elections, anti-abortion groups at the state and national level hope the Buckeye State will offer a new playbook as abortion advocates seek to introduce similar initiatives to undo strict bans in other red states. Abortion opponents argue that groups such as Planned Parenthood and the ACLU, which have been working on the ballot strategy, were more prepared after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year and erased federal abortion protections.

Last year voters in Michigan, Vermont and California voted to add abortion protections to their state constitutions, while Kansas, Kentucky and Montana voters rejected efforts to roll access back. Abortion advocates are working to get initiatives on the 2024 ballot in states including Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Florida, South Dakota and Nebraska.

In Ohio, abortion rights advocates defeated a ballot initiative in August that would have raised the threshold to amend the constitution from a simple majority to 60%. Now, after urging voters to vote “no” on the August amendment – also called Issue 1 – they are urging people to vote “yes” on the November version, a switch that has caused some confusion with voters.

Keep reading here.

At a Louisville precinct, Anne Ellercamp cited equality for all Kentuckians as her driving factor in casting her vote.

“Women deserve to make decisions about their own bodies. That’s why I’m here,” she told CNN.

Asked about Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear’s ad featuring Hadley Duvall, a young woman who recounts being a survivor of sexual abuse that admonishes Beshear’s Republican opponent, Attorney General Daniel Cameron, for his hardline position on abortion, Ellercamp said it did in fact stick with her but that should would have likely supported Beshear anyway because she’s “a “Democrat all the way through,” who doesn’t traditionally vote for Republicans.

“I don’t think I’ve ever voted for a Republican in my entire life and I’m not going to start this year.” 

Meanwhile, Jeff Stewart said he’s concerned about border security, schools and what he characterized as a lack of leadership. 

“I wish both parties would come together. I think most people agree on 90% of subjects and 10% divide us,” he said, decrying the division in our politics.

Stewart said he supported Cameron because he “stands for the values I believe in.” Stewart described himself as an “open” voter willing to vote for candidates in both parties.

Democratic mayoral candidate Cherelle Parker poses for photos after casting a ballot in Philadelphia on Tuesday.

Democrat Cherelle Parker is heavily favored to win Philadelphia’s mayoral election against army veteran and fellow former council member David Oh, who is the only Republican that ran for the office.

If elected, Parker would become the first woman to serve as mayor of Philadelphia.

She formerly represented northwest Philadelphia in the state legislature and served on the city council. With public safety a major issue in Philadelphia, Parker has campaigned on increasing the size of the city’s police department and she was able to defeat several more progressive candidates in a competitive primary in May.

Incumbent Democratic Mayor Jim Kenney cannot run for reelection due to term limits.

Philadelphia Republican mayoral candidate David Oh meets with voters at a polling place in Philadelphia on Tuesday.

Voters across Pennsylvania will also vote for a state Supreme Court justice to replace former Chief Justice Max Baer, who died last year.

Democrat Daniel McCaffery and Republican Carolyn Carluccio will face off, but Democrats currently control four of the court’s six occupied seats, so the outcome of the race won’t immediately impact control of the court.

Read more from CNN’s Greg Krieg on Parker’s primary win.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Daniel Cameron casts his ballot in Louisville on Tuesday.

While former President Donald Trump continues to falsely claim the 2020 election was stolen, Trump-backed Kentucky Republican gubernatorial candidate Daniel Cameron said he’ll accept the results of this election.

“I absolutely will accept the results of the election,” Cameron told reporters after voting in Louisville with his wife and son this morning.

Cameron has heavily focused on tying incumbent Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear to President Joe Biden. Biden is widely unpopular in the state. Cameron also told reporters his team has run a “fantastic campaign” that he feels good about.

All eyes are on Ohio as voters decide whether to add an amendment protecting abortion rights in the state constitution. If the measure is successful, it would override a six-week ban that was briefly in effect following the overturn of Roe v. Wade and is currently blocked by an injunction. Today, abortion is legal before 22 weeks in the state.

In an August special election, Ohio voters rejected an initiative that would have made it harder to amend the state constitution — a critical victory for abortion rights advocates.

Here’s where abortion access currently stands in the United States.

The biggest question in Tuesday’s elections may be whether Democrats can maintain their advantages in the nation’s biggest population centers — despite all the headwinds buffeting the party.

Geographic polarization has been one of the most powerful trends in American politics for roughly the past two decades, with Democrats gaining ground in the most populous metropolitan areas almost everywhere, and Republicans growing stronger in the smaller places beyond them. That trend notably accelerated after Donald Trump emerged as the GOP’s dominant figure in 2016 and has ratcheted up since the Supreme Court rescinded the constitutional right to abortion last year.

The GOP’s dominance of exurban, small-town and rural areas helped Trump win the White House in 2016 and has allowed the party to solidify its grip up and down the ballot on interior states with large nonurban populations. But Republicans’ retreat from the well-educated inner suburbs around major cities has been the principal reason for their disappointing results in the 2018, 2020 and 2022 elections, as well as the anti-abortion movement’s defeat in a series of ballot initiatives since the 2022 Supreme Court decision.

By traditional measures, the political environment for Tuesday’s election again looks favorable for Republicans, with most voters expressing dissatisfaction about both the economy and President Joe Biden’s job performance. But all of those conditions were present in the 2022 midterms, when Republicans underperformed anyway, mostly because of continued resistance in the major population centers – especially those well-educated inner suburbs where most voters oppose new restrictions on abortion.

The largest urban and suburban areas will likely determine whether Democrats can defy political gravity once again this year in Tuesday’s key elections, from Kentucky and Ohio to Virginia and Pennsylvania. If Democrats run well, it will reinforce the message from the 2022 midterms that they can hold a critical swathe of voters who feel the party has not delivered for their interests by portraying Republicans as a threat to their rights and values.

Read Brownstein’s full analysis.

People hold signs for and against Ohio’s “Issue 1,” outside the Hamilton County Board of Elections in Cincinnati on Thursday, November 2.

In the 16 months since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, six states have held direct votes on the future of abortion rights within their borders. And on six occasions, the pro-abortion rights side has prevailed — including in traditionally conservative states like Kentucky.

This calculus will be tested again on Tuesday, when voters in Ohio, Virginia, Kentucky and Pennsylvania have their say in races that, to varying degrees, have been defined by the prospect of a future with limited or severely restricted abortion rights.

Abortion has been an influential factor in campaigns for elective office up and down the ballot. The GOP’s failure to meet expectations in the 2022 midterm elections, when Democrats retained control of the US Senate and only narrowly lost the House of Representatives, raised the prospect that the high court’s decision could alter the political landscape for years to come.

Virginia: “There’s not like a referendum question on the ballot, but it is on the ballot,” Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine told CNN after a backyard rally for Democratic state legislative candidates in September.

Though Virginia is now reliably blue in presidential races, its local races are a fierce battleground. A year after voting for Joe Biden over Donald Trump by a 10-point margin, the Commonwealth elected Republican Glenn Youngkin its new governor, defeating Democrat Terry McAuliffe by two points.

Now, Virginians will decide whether to give Youngkin, who is rumored to be weighing a late entry into the GOP presidential primary, the backing that would allow him to move forward with new abortion restrictions.

Virginia’s off-off-year local elections — held a year after federal midterm elections and featuring no statewide contests — are famously difficult to predict. But the throughline this fall is clear: Should the GOP flip control of the state Senate and keep its majority in the House of Delegates, Youngkin will be free to pursue legislation to place a 15-week limit on abortion with exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother.

Ohio: Voters in the increasingly conservative Midwestern state will on Tuesday decide “Issue 1,” a referendum that could stamp abortion rights into the state constitution and wipe away a six-week ban that would otherwise be headed to the state supreme court for review.

Kentucky: The governor’s race in Kentucky, where Democrat Andy Beshear is seeking a second term in the Commonwealth’s top office, is expected to go down to the wire, with recent polling showing Beshear and GOP challenger Daniel Cameron in a tight contest.

Like Democratic leaders in so many other red states, Beshear has consistently pushed Cameron on his abortion stance, saying it’s more hardcore than the Republican wants voters to know.

In 2022, Kentucky voters rejected a ballot measure aimed at denying any constitutional protections for abortion. Still, the state currently has a pair of laws, passed in 2019 and signed by then-Gov. Matt Bevin, that amount to a near-total ban, with the only exception being for the health of the mother.

Read more about the impact abortion politics may have on Tuesday’s elections.

Houston mayoral candidates, from left, Jack Christie, Robert Gallegos, Gilbert Garcia, Lee Kaplan and state Sen. John Whitmire answer questions during a televised candidates debate held at the Houston Public Media studios on Thursday, October 19.

Houston’s nonpartisan mayoral election will see Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and state Sen. John Whitmire, who are both Democrats, compete against a crowded field.

Jackson Lee has been endorsed by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Harris County Judge Lina Hildago, while Whitmire’s backers include Houston-area US Rep. Sylvia Garcia, former mayor Lee Brown and several local police organizations.

A candidate must win a majority of the vote to be elected Houston mayor in this election. If no candidate does so, the top two candidates will advance to a runoff on December 9. 

Other candidates in the race include Democratic City Council member Robert Gallegos, attorney Lee Kaplan, Republican former City Council member M.J. Khan and Republican former City Council member Jack Christie.

The current mayor, Democrat Sylvester Turner, is prevented from running for reelection due to term limits.

After narrowly unseating an incumbent Republican governor in 2019, Democrat Andy Beshear is hoping to win a second term in a state that voted for former President Donald Trump by about 25 percentage points in 2020.

Challenging him is Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron, who would be Kentucky’s first Black governor and the nation’s first Black Republican elected governor if elected.

Kentucky Democrats have their base of support in the state’s two largest counties: Jefferson, home to Louisville where 17% of the state’s population lives, and Fayette, home to Lexington, the University of Kentucky and 7% of the state population. These were the only two counties President Joe Biden won in 2020, although Beshear won many more counties in 2019.

Beshear, whose father was Kentucky’s governor from 2007 to 2015, has made abortion a major issue in the campaign.

Abortion is illegal in most cases in Kentucky, and Cameron — who has said he’d sign a bill that included exceptions for rape and incest if the legislature passed one — also supports the existing law.

One striking ad from the Beshear campaign features a rape survivor speaking directly to the camera, telling Cameron, “to tell a 12-year-old girl, she must have the baby of her stepfather who raped her is unthinkable.”

Democrats have worked to tie Cameron to Beshear’s predecessor, Republican Matt Bevin on issues like education and health care, while Republicans have tried to nationalize the race by tying Beshear to Biden and emphasizing Trump’s endorsement of Cameron.

Cameron has also attacked Beshear over his handling of the pandemic, saying at a recent debate that he would have acted like other GOP chief executives who tried “to get their states open as quickly as possible.”

Read more from CNN’s Eric Bradner on how Democrats are leaning into abortion in Kentucky.

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in April.

Vice President Kamala Harris pressed the importance of voting in a series of high-stakes state and local elections this Tuesday, highlighting the importance of the Black vote in key races. 

Tuesday’s election, she said, “is about making decisions about whether we are going to have leaders who agree that people deserve their freedoms, including the freedom to make decisions about their own body.”

Harris has been a key spokesperson for the Biden White House on the issue of abortion rights, which the campaign believes is a winning issue for Democrats ahead of next year’s presidential election. She pointed to Virginia and Ohio as places where abortion is on the ballot Tuesday.

“Virginia is now the only state in the south without an abortion ban. But Virginia Republicans tried to pass one, and Governor Youngkin said he would sign any ban that gets to his desk. When we think about what that means to take away the right of a woman to make decisions, having the freedom to make decision with her pastor or priest or her Rabbi but not having her government tell her what to do. It’s a very big issue,” she said.

And in Ohio, she warned, “They’ve been trying to make it confusing in terms of the constitutional amendment. This time, it’s important that they vote ‘yes’ on that ballot measure in Ohio. The Republicans have been trying to make it confusing, but Ohioans should vote yes on that ballot proposal.

And speaking to a predominately Black audience, Harris stressed the importance of voting, calling the Black vote “critically, critically important.”

Harris continued, “People are counting on folks not to vote, and they’re purposely making it more difficult for people to vote. And so we have to pay attention to the fact that there are folks who are trying to silence folks from voting and we need to show them that we will not be silenced.”