Welcome to the November 8, 2023, Brew.
By: Juan Garcia de Paredes
Welcome to today’s Brew! It’s the day after Election Day 2023, and while the dust is still settling in many races around the country, we have results for quite a few key races!
Here’s a rundown of where things stood at 1 a.m. E.T. (And remember, for the latest news and information about yesterday’s contests, visit our election results overview page).
- Statewide elections
- Notable state legislative elections
- Notable mayoral elections
- Notable school board elections
- Notable ballot measures
- Congressional special elections
Statewide election results
Kentucky gubernatorial election
Incumbent Andy Beshear (D) defeated state Attorney General Daniel Cameron (R) in the general election for Kentucky governor. As of 10:00 p.m., Beshear led Cameron 53% to 47%.
Beshear’s win means the state will remain under divided government until at least 2024, when the next state legislative elections will be held. Democrats control the governorship, and Republicans control both legislative chambers. Kentucky has had a divided government since 2019, when Beshear was first elected governor.
Beshear defeated incumbent Gov. Matt Bevin (R) 49.2% to 48.8% in 2019. He is the son of former Gov. Steve Beshear (2007-2015) and previously served as attorney general from 2015 to 2019.
The lieutenant governor was also up for election. In Kentucky, gubernatorial and lieutenant governor candidates run as a ticket, meaning Beshear’s running mate, Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman (D), will continue to serve in that role.
Kentucky—alongside Kansas, Louisiana, and North Carolina—was one of four states with a Democratic governor that former President Donald Trump (R) won in 2020.
At the state level, Democratic governors have led Kentucky for 64 of the past 76 years.
Mississippi gubernatorial election
Incumbent Tate Reeves (R) defeated Brandon Presley (D) in the general election for Mississippi governor. As of 1:00 a.m., Reeves led Presley 52% to 46%. Reeves was first elected governor in 2019.
Reeves’ win means Mississippi will remain a Republican trifecta, a status it has had since 2012. The last Democrat elected governor of Mississippi was Ronnie Musgrove in 1999.
Reeves became the first Republican state treasurer in Mississippi’s history when he was elected to the position in 2003. He was elected lieutenant governor in 2011 and served for two terms. Presley has represented the Northern District of the Mississippi Public Service Commission since 2008. Before that, he was the mayor of Nettleton, Mississippi, from 2001 to 2007.
Following the 2023 elections, there will be at least 40 trifectas—23 Republican and 17 Democratic—the highest number since at least 1992. The other 10 states will have a divided government. Louisiana—which will change from divided government to a Republican trifecta once Governor-elect Jeff Landry is sworn in, was the only gubernatorial office to switch partisan control this year. Landry won the Oct. 14 primary outright.
Heading into the elections, 26 states had Republican governors, and 24 states had Democratic governors. After Landry is sworn in, Republicans will have 27 governorships, and Democrats will have 23.
Kentucky, Mississippi, and Louisiana were the only states to hold gubernatorial elections in 2023.
Daniel McCaffery (D) defeated Carolyn Carluccio (R) in the partisan election for a seat on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. As of 1:00 am, McCaffery led Carluccio 53% to 47%.
McCaffery will succeed Justice Max Baer (D), who died on Sept. 30, 2022. As a result of Baer’s death, the court went from a 5-2 to a 4-2 Democratic majority. Once McCaffery is sworn in, Democrats will again have a 5-2 majority.
Control of the court last changed following the 2015 elections, when it went from a 4-3 Republican majority to a 5-2 Democratic majority.
The next scheduled state supreme court elections in Pennsylvania will take place in 2025 when three Democratic justices first elected in 2015—Kevin M. Dougherty (D), David Wecht (D), and Christine Donohue (D)—will be up for retention. If any of the three justices are not retained, the governor will appoint an interim successor who must be approved by a two-thirds vote of the Pennsylvania Senate. The interim justice will serve until an election to fill the seat takes place concurrently with the next municipal election occurring more than 10 months after the vacancy occurred.
Pennsylvania was one of two states, alongside Wisconsin, to hold state supreme court elections in 2023.
Notable state legislative election results
Virginia General Assembly
Democrats gained control of the Virginia House of Delegates and maintained control of the Virginia State Senate. Virginia’s trifecta status will remain divided, as the governorship was not up for election this year. The current governor is Republican Glenn Youngkin (R).
As of this writing, projections showed Democrats would win at least a 51-seat majority in the Virginia House of Delegates, switching chamber control from Republican to Democratic. Heading into the election, Republicans had a 48-46 majority, with six vacancies.
Ahead of the election, we identified seven battleground elections in Districts 21, 22, 57, 65, 82, 89, and 97. Of those, six had been called as of 1:00 am:
- District 21: Joshua Thomas (D) defeated John Stirrup (R)
- District 22: Ian Lovejoy (R) defeated Travis Nembhard (D).
- District 57: David Owen (R) defeated Susanna Gibson (D).
- District 65: Joshua Cole (D) defeated Lee Peters III (R).
- District 89: N. Baxter Ennis (R) defeated Karen Jenkins (D)
- District 97: Michael Feggans (D) defeated incumbent Karen Greenhalgh (R).
Projections in individual districts also determined Democrats were guaranteed at least a 21-seat majority in the Virginia State Senate, meaning the party will maintain control of the chamber. Ahead of the election, Democrats had a 22-18 majority.
We identified eight battleground elections in the Virginia House of Delegates: Districts 4, 16, 17, 22, 24, 27, 30, and 31. Of those, six had been called as of 1:00 a.m.:
- District 4: David Suetterlein (R) defeated Trish White-Boyd (D).
- District 16: Schuyler VanValkenburg (D) defeated incumbent Siobhan Dunnavant (R).
- District 17: Emily Brewer (R) defeated Clinton Jenkins (D).
- District 27: Tara Durant (R) defeated Joel Griffin (D) and Monica Gray (Independent).
- District 30: Danica Roem (D) defeated William Carroll Woolf (R).
- District 31: Russet Perry (D) defeated Juan Pablo Segura (R).
Hillsborough County 3rd state House District, New Hampshire
Paige Beauchemin (D) defeated Republican David Narkunas (R) in the special election for New Hampshire House of Representatives District Hillsborough 3. The seat became vacant after representative-elect David Cote (D) resigned on July 6, 2023, without taking office following his win in 2022.
Once Beauchemin is sworn in, the Republicans will have a one-seat majority in the 400-member chamber: 198-197 with two vacancies.
Notable mayoral election results
Incumbent Joe Hogsett (D) was elected to a third term after he defeated Jefferson Shreve (R). As of 10:00 p.m., Hogsett led Shreve 59% to 41%. Hogsett was first elected in 2015. He served as Indiana’s secretary of state from 1988 to 1994 and as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Indiana from 2010 to 2014. He also served as chairman of the Indiana Democratic Party from 2003 to 2004. Indianapolis is the 15th largest city in the United States.
U.S. Representative Sheila Jackson Lee (D) and Democratic state Sen. John Whitmire (D) advanced from a field of 18 candidates and will face each other in a Dec. 9 runoff. While the race is nonpartisan, both Lee and Whitmire are Democrats. Houston is the 4th largest city in the United States.
Twenty-nine of the 100 largest cities held mayoral elections in 2023. Heading into the elections, Democrats hold 63 top-100 mayoral offices, Republicans hold 25, independents hold four, and nonpartisan mayors hold six. Two mayors’ partisan affiliations are unknown.
Notable school board election results
Central Bucks School District, Pennsylvania
Incumbent Karen Smith (D), Heather Reynolds (D), Dana Foley (D), Rick Haring (D), and Susan M. Gibson (D), the Democrats who ran as the Neighbors United for School Board slate of candidates, were elected to the Central Bucks School District school board in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Five districts were up for election: Central Bucks Board of Directors Regions 1, 2, 3, 6, and 8.
The Democratic sweep of all five seats up for election gives the party a 6-3 majority on the board, compared to a 6-3 Republican majority ahead of the election. Of the five regions up for election, Republicans represented three, while Democrats represented two.
Anoka-Hennepin School District, Minnesota
Seven candidates ran in the nonpartisan general election for Anoka-Hennepin School District school board in Minnesota. Districts 1, 2, and 5 were up for election:
- District 1: Linda Hoekman defeated incumbent Erin Heers-McArdle.
- District 5: Michelle Langenfeld defeated Scott Simmons and Cyrus Wilson.
- District 2: Zach Arco and Susan Witt ran. As of 1:00 am EST, the race was uncalled.
Ahead of the election, the Anoka-Hennepin chapter of the Education Minnesota (AHEM) teachers union endorsed Heers-McArdle and Langenfeld.
The nonprofit Anoka-Hennepin Parents Alliance – which describes itself as promoting academic excellence, school safety, and “parental rights on political, religious, and moral issues” – endorsed Hoekman, Arco, and Simmons.
Notable ballot measure results
Colorado
- Colorado Proposition HH: Voters defeated Proposition HH, which would have enacted changes to state property taxes and revenue limitations. As of 10:12 p.m. EST, the vote was 39% ‘Yes’ and 61% ‘No’.
Maine
- Maine Question 3 and Question 1: Voters defeated Question 3, which would have created a quasi-municipal electric utility called the Pine Tree Power Company, and approved Question 1, which requires voter approval for certain entities to incur a total outstanding debt that exceeds $1 billion. As of 10:32 p.m. EST, the vote for Question 1 was 66% ‘Yes’ and 34% ‘No’, and the vote for Question 3 was 29% ‘Yes’ and 70.88% ‘No’.
- Maine Question 4: Voters approved Question 4, known as a right-to-repair law, to require motor vehicle manufacturers to standardize onboard vehicle diagnostics and make access to vehicle systems available to owners and third-party independent shops for repairs. As of 9:50 p.m. EST, the vote was 72% ‘Yes’ to 28% ‘No’.
Ohio
- Ohio Issue 1: Voters approved Issue 1, providing a state constitutional right to “make and carry out one’s own reproductive decisions, including but not limited to” decisions about abortion, contraception, fertility treatment, miscarriage care, and continuing pregnancy. As of 9:08 p.m. EST, the vote was 58% ‘Yes’ to 42% ‘No’.
- Ohio Issue 2: Voters approved Issue 2, which makes Ohio the 24th state to legalize marijuana. Once Issue 2 is implemented, more than half of the U.S. population will live in a state where marijuana is legal. As of 9:32 p.m. EST, the vote was 56% ‘Yes’ to 44% ‘No’.
Texas
- Texas Proposition 1: Voters approved Proposition 1, making Texas the third state to add a right to farm to its state constitution. As of 9:32 p.m. EST, the vote was 78% ‘Yes’ to 22% ‘No’.
- Texas Proposition 3: Voters approved Proposition 3, a measure to prohibit the state legislature from enacting a wealth or net worth tax in the future. As of 9:36 p.m. EST, the vote was 68% ‘Yes’ to 32% ‘No’.
Congressional special elections
- Rhode Island’s 1st Congressional District: Former Deputy Director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs Gabe Amo (D) defeated Marine Veteran Gerry Leonard (R). The special election filled the vacancy left by David Cicilline (D), who resigned on May 31, 2023, to run the Rhode Island Foundation. Heading into the election, Republicans had a 221-212 majority, with two vacancies. After Amo is sworn in, Republicans will have a 221-213 majority. An election to fill the remaining vacancy—in Utah’s 2nd Congressional District—will be held on Nov. 21.
