Closing summary
It was election day for off-year races nationwide, and Democrats triumphed in major contests. In Kentucky, Democratic governor Andy Beshear won re-election in what is otherwise a red state, while in neighboring Ohio, voters approved a constitutional amendment protecting abortion access. We are still awaiting the results of races for all 140 seats in the Virginia general assembly, but Democrats appear on course to maintain their majority in the senate, denying Republican governor Glenn Youngkin the majority he needs to pass his agenda – including a ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Another race yet to be called is in Mississippi, where Republican governor Tate Reeves is standing for a second term against Democrat Brandon Presley.
Here’s what else happened today:
The US House is moving forward with a resolution to censure the progressive Democrat Rashida Tlaib over comments criticizing Israel and supporting the Palestinian cause. In a speech, Tlaib said she would continue calling for a ceasefire in the ongoing invasion of Gaza.
David Weiss, the special counsel investigating Hunter Biden, defended his independence in an unusual behind-closed-doors appearance before the Republican-controlled House judiciary committee.
Iowa’s Republican governor, Kim Reynolds, endorsed her Florida counterpart, Ron DeSantis, for president, saying she does not think Donald Trump can win next year.
Hakeem Jeffries, the top Democrat in the House, decried “ad hominem attacks against colleagues” – a veiled reference to the controversy over Tlaib’s remarks.
In Ohio, the story of a 10-year-old rape victim who had to travel out of the state to seek an abortion continued to resonate with voters.
Updated
Ohio voters approve protecting abortion rights in state constitution
Voters in Ohio have approved a constitutional amendment that will protect abortion access in the state, the Associated Press reports, despite the Republican-dominated legislature’s has attempts to curtail the procedure since Roe v Wade was overturned last year.
The victory of Issue 1 in Ohio was the latest instance of voters in a red state deciding to maintain access to abortion, following similar elections last year in Kentucky and Kansas, as well as a host of Democratic-leaning states.
Democrat Andy Beshear re-elected as Kentucky governor
Kentucky’s Democratic governor, Andy Beshear, has won a second term as governor, the Associated Press confirms:
BREAKING: Democrat Andy Beshear wins reelection for governor in Kentucky. #APRaceCall at 8:57 p.m. EST. https://t.co/BkpxdgZBfx
— AP Politics (@AP_Politics) November 8, 2023
Beshear’s victory is a rare triumph for a Democrat in Kentucky, which has been a reliably red state in recent presidential elections.
Updated
Democrats on course to keep control of Virginia senate, blocking Youngkin abortion ban
Democrats in Virginia are on track to again win a majority in the state senate, which would deny Republican governor Glenn Youngkin the ability to pass his agenda through the legislature, including a proposed ban on abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
Results of key senate races show a majority of Democrats triumphing over GOP candidates, meaning at least one of the two chambers in the general assembly will remain in the hands of Youngkin’s opponents. From the Cook Political Report:
In VA Senate, Schuyler VanValkenburg (D) appears to have defeated Siobhan Dunnavant (R) in #SD16. If Russet Perry's (D) narrow lead holds in #SD31, Dems would be guaranteed to keep the majority.
— Dave Wasserman (@Redistrict) November 8, 2023
And Virginia-based political consultant Ben Tribbett:
8:34PM PROJECTION: Russet Perry (D) defeats Juan Pablo Segura (R) in Senate District 31. Current Senate: 14 GOP, 20 DEM, 6 UND
— Ben Tribbett (@notlarrysabato) November 8, 2023
Democrats are also hoping to flip the house of delegates, which Republicans currently control by two seats. All positions in the two chambers are up for grabs in today’s election.
The Associated Press reports that Democrat Gabriel Amo has won a special election for an open House seat representing Rhode Island:
BREAKING: Democrat Gabriel Amo wins special election to U.S. House in Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District. #APRaceCall at 8:10 p.m. EST. https://t.co/BkpxdgZBfx
— AP Politics (@AP_Politics) November 8, 2023
Amo’s victory keeps the seat, which was previously occupied by Democrat David Cicilline until his resignation earlier this year, in the party’s hands. The outcome will not change the balance of power in the House, where the GOP has a four-seat majority.
The Cook Political Report reports that Issue 1, the Ohio ballot measure that will protect abortion rights in the state constitution, has been approved:
I've seen enough: in a victory for the pro-choice side, Ohio Issue 1, a measure to establish a right to an abortion in the state constitution, passes.
— Dave Wasserman (@Redistrict) November 8, 2023
The Associated Press has not yet called the race.
Polls have closed for election day in Ohio, and the mood at a watch party for abortion rights supporters seemed cautiously hopeful.
As voting finished at 7.30pm, dozens of people began to drink, chat and laugh at a downtown Columbus watch party for Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights, the coalition backing Issue 1, which would enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution. The lights were dimmed down, while speakers started to blast songs like More Than A Feeling and Come On Eileen.
Nobody paid much attention to the widescreen TV playing CNN, where reporters discussed early election results. In August, when Ohio held a special election, the race was called around 9pm.
Abortion rights activists have reason to feel positive: an October poll found that 58% of Ohio residents planned to vote in favor of Issue 1. And last year, just months after the US supreme court overturned Roe v Wade, multiple purple and red states voted to preserve abortion rights.
Chloé Wells, a regional organizer in north-east Ohio for Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights, said that she’s been spending multiple days a week calling people and knocking on doors. There’s been “overwhelming support”, she said.
“We’re targeting people who are obviously in our universe, but it’s not like we’re targeting people who are guaranteed ‘yes’es’”, Wells said, a few hours before polls closed. “I still feel confident in it.”
Updated
Polls close in Mississippi as voters consider second term for Republican governor Reeves
Voting just finished in most parts of Mississippi, where voters are being asked whether to give Republican Tate Reeves a second term in office, or replace him with Democrat Brandon Presley.
But polls are still open in Hinds county, the state’s most populous, where local media reported some polling locations have run out of ballots:
🚨BREAKING NEWS: A judge has ordered polling locations in Hinds County to stay open until 8pm.
— Brandon Presley (@BrandonPresley) November 8, 2023
If you are in line, stay in line. If you need assistance, call our Voter Protection Hotline at 601-203-4131.
Thus, results in this race, where Reeves is predicted to have the advantage, may be delayed.
Updated
Ohio’s Republican governor, Mike DeWine, went on CNN to argue against Issue 1, which would protect abortion access in the state constitution.
The appearance resulted in a lengthy back and forth with the anchor Kaitlan Collins on DeWine’s insistence its passage would allow abortions later in pregnancies, though those rarely happen.
Watch it below:
With polls set to close soon, Ohio's Republican Governor Mike DeWine argues against the abortion rights amendment, warning about late term abortions. The CDC in 2020 less than 1% of abortions in the U.S. were performed at or after 21 weeks. pic.twitter.com/3O79xSqv6a
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) November 7, 2023
Updated
In addition to a state constitutional amendment protecting abortion rights, Ohio voters are deciding whether to green-light recreational marijuana.
Here’s more on that, from the Associated Press:
Issue 2 on the statewide ballot would allow adults 21 and over to buy and possess up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis and to grow plants at home. A 10% tax would be imposed on purchases, with proceeds going to administrative costs, addiction treatment, municipalities with dispensaries, and social equity and jobs programs.
Ohio would become the 24th state to allow adult use cannabis for fun if the measure passes.
The conclusion of the vote follows a nearly two-year push by the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, which surmounted administrative, legal and legislative hurdles to put the citizen-initiated statute before voters.
Polls close in Ohio, where protecting abortion rights is on the ballot
Polls have just closed in Ohio, where voters are deciding whether to protect access to abortion in the state constitution.
In August, voters overwhelmingly rejected an attempt by Republicans to make it more difficult to pass the sort of amendment being voted on today. We’ll see if that is any predictor of how today’s election turns out.
Dave Wasserman, an elections analyst with the Cook Political Report, says Democrat Andy Beshear has been re-elected as governor of Kentucky:
I've seen enough: Andy Beshear (D) wins reelection in #KYGOV, defeating Daniel Cameron (R).
— Dave Wasserman (@Redistrict) November 8, 2023
The Guardian relies on the Associated Press for race calls, and the news agency has not yet determined the result of the Kentucky gubernatorial election.
Kentucky has been a reliably red state for more than 25 years, but Democratic governor Andy Beshear has what is predicted to be a good shot at winning a second term in office.
He is up against Daniel Cameron, the state’s attorney general who, if elected, would be the first Black Republican governor in US history. Kentucky is among the southern states that banned abortion in the wake of Roe v Wade’s overturning last year, but the Associated Press reports that reproductive rights are nonetheless expected to be a major factor in the contest.
Here’s why:
While much of Beshear’s first term was dominated by his response to a series of natural disasters and the pandemic, his re-election campaign was often focused on dire warnings about the future of abortion rights. He portrayed his Republican challenger, Daniel Cameron, as too extreme on the issue, pointing to his support for the state’s abortion ban, which lacks exceptions for pregnancies caused by rape or incest.
The contest pits two former law firm colleagues against each other in one of this year’s most high-profile elections. The Kentucky results will be closely watched for clues about whether voters remain energized by concerns about the future of abortion access in the US. Voters in other Republican-leaning states from Kansas to Ohio have already rebuffed other GOP-backed efforts to erode abortion rights. A Beshear win would signal to President Joe Biden and other Democrats that they should continue to focus on the issue in 2024, when control of Congress and the White House are at stake.
Cameron, who would be the nation’s first Black Republican to be elected governor, reaffirmed his support for the current Kentucky law, which bans all abortions except when carried out to save a pregnant woman’s life or to prevent a disabling injury. He later signaled he’d sign a bill adding rape and incest exceptions, but at another point, when confronted by someone claiming to seek reassurance about his position, indicated he’d support such exceptions “if the courts made us change that law”.
Updated
Polls close in Virginia as voters ponder whether to empower Republican governor Glenn Youngkin
Polls have just closed in Virginia, where voters are electing a new slate of legislators in both the state senate and house of delegates.
The Republican governor, Glenn Youngkin, is hoping his allies win majorities in both chambers and help him enact his priorities, including a ban on abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
Polls also closed in the final 41 counties in Kentucky, in the central time zone.
Updated
With only a few hours to go before the polls close in Ohio, activists on both sides of the abortion debate are scrambling to get more supporters to vote on Issue 1, a proposal to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution.
“Do you know that a vote ‘yes’ would legalize abortion through all nine months of pregnancy?” Jamie Curry, Ohio regional coordinator for the anti-abortion group Students for Life, asked a student as he walked past her on the Ohio State University’s campus. “Is that something you can agree with or live with?”
Issue 1 allows abortion to be prohibited past fetal viability, a benchmark that generally occurs around 24 weeks of pregnancy. The student, 20-year-old Christian Anguino, seemed unswayed by Curry’s attempt to win him over to her cause.
“The right to an abortion isn’t up to a person like me, a man, to decide that,” Anguino said. “A pregnancy is a very, very hard thing to go through.”
Curry, who organizes anti-abortion students across Ohio, and a small group of local students had set up a table at a plaza on the Ohio State University campus, near a school polling station. Their table included numerous “Vote No” stickers, plus a board that asked: “WHEN SHOULD THE PREBORN BE PROTECTED AGAINST ABORTION VIOLENCE?”
“I definitely feel hopeful,” said Cheyanne Griffey, a 19-year-old at Columbus State, a community college near the Ohio State University. “Just on this campus alone, it does seem primarily ‘vote yes,’ but I think if they can read over both sides and really take the time to look, I have a lot of hope that I think they could make the decision to vote no in the end.”
The outlook is grim for anti-abortion forces: In an October poll, 58% of Ohio residents say they planned to approve Issue 1.
A group of activists who support abortion rights set up a duelling table on the other side of the plaza. Their bright-pink sign read: “KEEP PERSONAL DECISIONS OUT OF THE HANDS OF POLITICIANS.”
“I’ve been doing organizing and grassroots work for at least the last four, five years,” said Amber Decker, a volunteer with Indivisible Central Ohio who supports Issue 1. “I have never felt the energy like we’re feeling right now.”
Updated
Polls have closed in parts of Kentucky.
The parts of Kentucky in the eastern time zone have closed their polls, while polls in parts of the state in the central time zone will remain open till the top of the hour.
Per the Kentucky secretary of state’s office, voter turnout was about 45-45%.
The big race to watch here, again, is for governor. The Democratic incumbent, Andy Beshear, is fighting to hold his seat against Republican challenger Daniel Cameron in a deeply red state.
Updated
More than a year after the news first broke, the story of a 10-year-old rape victim who had to flee Ohio for an abortion is motivating people to vote for abortion rights in Ohio.
“Basically, they believe if you’re raped, you should have a rapist’s baby,” said Bill Baldwin, a 70-year-old voter in Columbus, Ohio. “Oh, are you kidding?”
Ohio is the only state in 2023 to vote directly on abortion, as voters are being asked to decide on Tuesday whether to enshrine the right to the procedure in the state constitution. If abortion rights supporters win, Ohio will be the first reliably red state to vote in favor of abortion rights since the US supreme court overturned Roe v Wade last year.
The story of the 10-year-old, who eventually got an abortion in Indiana, made national news within days of Roe’s overturning. At the time, Ohio had a six-week abortion ban in effect. That law, which does not have exceptions for rape or incest and has since been frozen by a court, could again become the law of the land if abortion rights supporters fail this election day.
In Akron, Ohio, about two hours north-east of Columbus, voter Lewis Short also brought up the story of the 10-year-old. “What if she had the baby and down the road, the daddy says he wants to see the baby?” Short told a Guardian reporter the weekend before election day. “That’s crazy. He raped her.”
Abortion rights supporters are feeling cautiously optimistic about the vote. An October poll found that 58% of Ohioans plan to vote in favor of Issue 1, the proposal to amend the state constitution. And as activists knocked on doors in a Columbus neighborhood on election day, which was unseasonably warm, the people who answered the doors frequently said they planned to vote in favor of abortion rights or already had.
“These laws we’re passing? Yeah, we’ve got to stop that. That’s the evil I see right now,” said Baldwin, who chatted with the activists in front of his house. “I’m pretty sure Ohio is going to stop that, today.”
Updated
Poll closing times near for voters in Ohio, Virginia, Kentucky, Mississippi
Millions of voters in Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia and Mississippi are almost out of time to cast ballots in some of the most closely watched races being decided today.
In Kentucky, where Democratic governor Andy Beshear is standing for a second term against GOP candidate Daniel Cameron in the strongly Republican state, most polls close at 6pm eastern time, except for the 41 counties that are in the central time zone and close an hour later.
In Virginia, where all seats in the statehouse are up for grabs and will determine whether the Republican governor, Glenn Youngkin, is able to carry out his agenda – including passing an abortion ban – polls close at 7pm.
Voting in Ohio – where the marquee race is over an amendment to protect abortion rights in the state constitution – halts at 7.30pm.
And in Mississippi, where the Republican governor, Tate Reeves, is up for a second term against Democrat Brandon Presley, the voting is over at 8pm.
Updated
The House will vote tomorrow on censuring Rashida Tlaib.
The resolution was proposed by Georgia Republican Rich McCormick, and accuses Tlaib of “promoting false narratives regarding the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel and for calling for the destruction of the state of Israel”.
Democrats today tried to table the resolution, which would block its passage, but failed when 212 Republicans and one Democrat voted against doing so. It’s unclear if that coalition will hold together tomorrow when the resolution itself is considered.
There is evidence that some Democrats are uncomfortable with Tlaib’s statements, particularly her use of the slogan “from the river to the sea”, which the resolution explicitly condemns. From its text:
Whereas, on November 3, 2023, Representative Tlaib published on social media a video containing the phrase “from the river to the sea”, which is widely recognized as a genocidal call to violence to destroy the state of Israel and its people to replace it with a Palestinian state extending from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea;
Whereas Representative Tlaib doubled down on this call to violence by falsely describing “from the river to the sea” as “an aspirational call for freedom, human rights, and peaceful coexistence” despite it clearly entailing Israel’s destruction and denial of its fundamental right to exist
Earlier today, a group of House Democrats signed on to a statement that condemned usage of the term, without mentioning Tlaib specifically:
We reject the use of the phrase “from the river to the sea” – a phrase used by many, including Hamas, as a rallying cry for the destruction of the State of Israel and genocide of the Jewish people. We all feel deep anguish for the human suffering caused by the war in Gaza.Hamas started this war with a barbaric terrorist attack on October 7, 2023, and neither the Palestinian nor Israeli people can have peace as long as Hamas still rules over Gaza and threatens Israel. This war is tragic and deeply painful for everyone, especially those who identify with the land and the people – Christians, Jews, and Muslims alike. Every civilian killed, every family torn apart, Palestinian and Israeli, is a tragedy. Every human being deserves dignity and respect, and each of us must do all we can to always see the humanity of the innocent people caught in the middle of this war.
Illinois’s Brad Schneider was one of the organizers of the statement, and also the only Democrat to vote against tabling the resolution to censure Tlaib.
Updated
Top House Democrat Jeffries decries 'ad hominem attacks against colleagues' in statement on one-month anniversary of Hamas attack
The House’s Democratic minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, has released a statement marking a month since Hamas’s deadly attack on Israel that also weighs in on the upcoming vote to censure Rashida Tlaib.
Tlaib is the sole Palestinian American in the House, and has been outspoken against Israel’s retaliatory invasion of the Gaza Strip. Republicans have moved to censure Tlaib for comments they say promote the destruction of Israel, and which have also attracted criticism from some Democrats.
Jeffries does not mention Tlaib specifically in the statement, but instead recommends that Democrats agree to disagree when it comes to Israel:
As public officials serving in Congress, the words we choose matter. It is my strong belief that we must all take care to respect each other personally, even when strongly disagreeing on matters of policy or legislation. We should be able to agree to disagree on domestic or foreign policy issues, without being disagreeable with each other or the President of the United States. If the end goal following the defeat of Hamas and safe return of all hostages is a just and lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinian people, as I believe it should be, ad hominem attacks against colleagues will never accomplish that objective.
The searing moment of turbulence in our society and throughout the world calls for us to tackle the challenges we confront in a serious, sober and substantive manner. Let us all recommit to doing just that for the good of everyone.
Updated
The day so far
Voters in many states across the country are casting ballots in off-year elections that could serve as important bellwethers ahead of the 2024 presidential vote. There is no shortage of races to cover, but we’ll be paying particularly close attention to Virginia, where Republican governor Glenn Youngkin is hoping his allies take control of the legislature so he can enact an abortion ban, and Ohio, a Republican-leaning state where voters are deciding where to protect abortion rights in the state constitution. In red state Kentucky, Democratic governor Andy Beshear is fighting for a second term, while in Mississippi, voters are deciding whether to send Republican Tate Reeves to the governor’s mansion again, or replace him with Democrat Brandon Presley – a cousin of Elvis Presley.
But that’s not all the news that has happened today:
The House is moving forward with a resolution to censure progressive Democrat Rashida Tlaib over comments criticizing Israel and supporting the Palestinian cause. In a speech, Tlaib said she would continue calling for a ceasefire in the ongoing invasion of Gaza.
David Weiss, the special counsel investigating Hunter Biden, defended his independence in an unusual behind-closed-doors appearance before the House judiciary committee.
Iowa’s Republican governor Kim Reynolds endorsed her Florida counterpart Ron DeSantis for president, saying she does not think Donald Trump can win next year.
Maryland’s Jamie Raskin led the Democratic defense in the just-concluded floor debate over censuring Rashida Tlaib.
He argued that punishing Tlaib for her criticism of Israel would undercut speech freedom:
“This resolution is about one thing and one thing only: the punishment of speech.”
— The Recount (@therecount) November 7, 2023
– Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) speaks in opposition to a resolution to censure Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) pic.twitter.com/XSU6kMUaeH
The House just suspended its consideration of the resolution to censure Tlaib, and is expected to vote on it tomorrow.
Here’s video of the first half of Rashida Tlaib’s speech on the House floor defending her comments on Israel’s invasion of Gaza:
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) chokes up while condemning the resolution to censure her that the House is considering:
— The Recount (@therecount) November 7, 2023
“Speaking up to save lives, Mr. Chair, no matter faith, no matter ethnicity, should not be controversial in this chamber.” pic.twitter.com/4ob7W6NZIB
'We cannot lose our shared humanity' Tlaib says, as House leads towards censure
In remarks on the House floor minutes after Democrats failed to block an effort to censure her for remarks her detractors say disparaged Israel, progressive Rashida Tlaib defended her criticism of the country and urged lawmakers to join in calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
“I will not be silenced and I will not let you distort my words,” Tlaib said. “No government is beyond criticism. The idea that criticizing the government of Israel is antisemitic sets a very dangerous precedent, and it’s been used to silence diverse voices speaking up for human rights across our nation.”
Tlaib, who was first elected in 2018 and is a prominent member of “The Squad” of progressive female lawmakers, grew emotional as she said, “I can’t believe I have to say this, but Palestinian people are not disposable.”
She continued by saying she was against attacks on both Israeli and Palestinian civilians alike:
The cries of the Palestinian and Israeli children sound no different to me. What I don’t understand is why the cries of Palestinians sound different to you all. We cannot lose our shared humanity, Mr. Chair. I hear the voices of advocates in Israel and Palestine across America and around the world for peace.
I’m inspired by … the courageous survivors in Israel who have lost loved ones, yet are calling for a ceasefire and the end to violence. I am grateful to the people in the streets for the peace movement with countless Jewish Americans across the country standing up and lovingly saying ‘not in our name’.
We will continue to call for a ceasefire, Mr. Chair, for the immediate delivery of critical humanitarian aid to Gaza, for the release of all hostages and those arbitrarily detained and for every American to come home. We will continue to work for real, lasting peace that uphold human rights and dignity of all people and centers … peaceful coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians and censures no one – no one – and ensures that no person, no child has to suffer or live in fear of violence.
Progressive Democrat Rashida Tlaib has long been outspoken against Israel’s policies towards Palestinians, but provoked a firestorm of criticism last week by defending the controversial slogan “from the river to the sea”:
From the river to the sea is an aspirational call for freedom, human rights, and peaceful coexistence, not death, destruction, or hate. My work and advocacy is always centered in justice and dignity for all people no matter faith or ethnicity.
— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) November 3, 2023
What makes that slogan so controversial? Here’s the Guardian’s Daniel Boffey with the answer:
“We won’t rest until we have justice, until all people, Israelis and Palestinians, between the river and the sea can live in peaceful liberty,” said Andy McDonald, a Labour MP, at a protest in London organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign at the weekend.
Three days later, McDonald was suspended from the party pending an investigation, leaving the former shadow cabinet minister sitting as an independent for now.
Some feel the decision was heavy handed while others see it as a sign of strong leadership from Keir Starmer as the Labour leader tries to draw a clear line between himself and his predecessor, Jeremy Corbyn.
The key to understanding why the party reacted so strongly is six words from McDonald’s speech – and the context in with they were spoken.
“Between the river and the sea” is a fragment from a slogan used since the 1960s by a variety of people with a host of purposes. And it is open to an array of interpretations, from the genocidal to the democratic.
The full saying goes: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” – a reference to the land between the Jordan River, which borders eastern Israel, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west.
The question then is what that means for Israel and the Jewish people.
House votes to move ahead with censuring progressive Democrat Rashida Tlaib over Israel comments
The House of Representatives just rejected an attempt to block a resolution censuring progressive Democrat Rashida Tlaib over her criticism of Israel.
The vote was 213 opposed to tabling the resolution, 208 in favor and one voting present.
The resolution accuses Tlaib, the only Palestinian American in Congress, of “promoting false narratives” regarding Hamas’s 7 October terrorist attack against Israel, and “calling for destruction for the State of Israel.”
The House is expected to vote later today on the passing the resolution. Lawmakers are currently on the floor debating Tlaib’s comments.
Voters across Virginia are in the middle of casting ballots for state senate and assembly seats – all of which are up for grabs. Beyond just determining control of the legislature, today’s election could decide whether Republican governor Glenn Youngkin is able to pass a ban on abortion in one of the few southern states where accessing the procedure is still possible. Here’s more on today’s election, from the Guardian’s Joan E Greve:
As he approached another door in Fredericksburg, walking past Halloween decorations and trees starting to lose their autumn leaves, Muhammad Khan prepared his pitch to voters. Over the past several weeks, Khan has spoken to many of his Virginia neighbors, stressing to them that the upcoming legislative elections will determine the future of their state.
Addressing fellow union organizers on Friday morning, Khan said: “We really need to fight, and we need Virginia blue.”
Members of Unite Here, a hospitality workers’ union, have knocked on 230,000 doors on behalf of Democratic candidates in Virginia ahead of Tuesday, when all 140 legislative seats in the battleground state will be up for grabs.
Republicans are looking to maintain their narrow majority in the house of delegates and flip control of the state senate, which would clear the way for the governor, Glenn Youngkin, to enact his policy agenda. But Democrats warn that Republicans would use their legislative trifecta in Richmond to enact a 15-week abortion ban and roll back access to the ballot box.
The results in Virginia carry national implications.
Special counsel told Congress 'I am ... the decision-maker' in Hunter Biden case - report
In his testimony before the House Judiciary Committee today, David Weiss, the justice department special counsel handling the prosecution of Hunter Biden, assured lawmakers he has full control over the case, Politico reports.
Republicans have alleged political interference in the investigation of the president’s son, which centers around allegations Biden failed to pay taxes on income from his overseas business dealings, and lied about using drugs on a background check to buy a firearm. Special prosecutors usually testify to Congress only after finishing their investigation, but the justice department and Weiss agreed to a behind-closed-doors session with the GOP-controlled committee.
Politico obtained part of Weiss’s testimony, and here’s what it had to say:
Special Counsel David Weiss told members of the Judiciary Committee (and their staff) behind closed doors today that he is "the decision-maker" in Hunter Biden case.
— Jordain Carney (@jordainc) November 7, 2023
Reiterates he first requested special counsel status in August. More 👇 pic.twitter.com/wl814o38hD
Among the many cities and states voting today is New York City, where voters are poised to send to the city council a man who was caught up in one of its most high-profile instances of wrongful convictions, the Associated Press reports:
The exonerated “Central Park Five” member Yusef Salaam is poised to win a seat Tuesday on the New York City council, marking a stunning reversal of fortune for a political newcomer who was wrongly imprisoned as a teenager in the infamous rape case.
Salaam, a Democrat, will represent a central Harlem district on the city council, having run unopposed for the seat in one of many local elections playing out across New York state on Tuesday. He won his primary election in a landslide.
The victory will come more than two decades after DNA evidence was used to overturn the convictions of Salaam and four other Black and Latino men in the 1989 rape and beating of a white jogger in Central Park. Salaam was imprisoned for almost seven years.
“For me, this means that we can really become our ancestors’ wildest dreams,” Salaam said in an interview before the election.
Less than two weeks after 18 people were killed by a gunman in their small New England city, residents headed gingerly to polling places there today.
The mood was somber. Several shooting survivors remained hospitalized, flags flew at half-staff, and funerals were being held this week for those who died in the attack, the Associated Press reports.
“This is a necessity. We have to do this [vote]. So we can’t neglect it even though we’ve been through a terrible tragedy,” said James Scribner, 79, a retired teacher and Marine veteran, who was joined by his wife at local school that was transformed into a polling place.
The shootings on October 25 at a bar and a bowling alley in Lewiston, Maine, forced tens of thousands of residents to shelter in place for several days. Grocery stores, gas stations and restaurants were closed. The gunman was later found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a nearby town.
Local candidates paused their campaigns for a week after the shootings, and campaigning was different when it resumed, said Jon Connor, a candidate for mayor.
“When we restarted campaigning, I was knocking on doors to see how people are doing,” said Connor, who was greeting voters earlier today. “We’re meeting people where they are. We want to be respectful.”
Lewiston voters were choosing a mayor and filling seven city council and eight school board seats. Some election workers stayed home, either out of safety concerns or to focus on mourning, city clerk Kathy Montejo said.
Voter turnout appeared slow but steady.
It seems a little quieter, a little more subdued, a little more somber,” Montejo said.
Some voters overcame feelings of vulnerability to get to the polls.
It still stays in the back of my mind. But I also can’t let one person make me stay in my house all by myself. I’m still sad. But I had to do my civic duty,” voter Lori Hallett said.
The Iowa governor, Kim Reynolds, broke her neutrality in the Republican primary and endorsed Ron DeSantis for president on Monday, saying she does not believe Donald Trump can win the general election.
“I believe he can’t win,” Reynolds said in an interview with NBC. “And I believe that Ron can.”
The endorsement gives DeSantis the support of a deeply popular governor (she has an 81% approval rating among likely caucus-goers, according to a Des Moines Register/NBC poll). It also gives him fuel as he tries to close a significant gap with the former president in polling, both in Iowa and across the US. Trump is currently polling at 45.6% in Iowa, according to the FiveThirtyEight average of polls, while DeSantis is at 17.1%. The Florida governor is also trying to break away from Nikki Haley, with whom he is battling for second place in the race.
DeSantis is betting his presidential campaign on a strong showing in Iowa, which will hold its caucuses for the GOP nomination on 15 January.
Iowa has long held the first caucuses in the presidential nominating contests and its governors do not typically endorse candidates. Reynolds had previously told others, including Trump, she would stay neutral in the contest, the New York Times reported in July. She reversed that on Monday.
“As a mother and as a grandmother and as an American, I just felt like I couldn’t stand on the sidelines any longer,” she said on Monday, according to the Des Moines Register. “We have too much at stake. Our country is in a world of hurt. The world is a powder keg. And I think it’s just really important that we put the right person in office.”
Full report here.
Voters in Houston are heading to the polls today to elect the next mayor of the nation’s fourth largest city, choosing from a crowded field that includes US congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee and state senator John Whitmire, two longtime Democratic lawmakers, the Associated Press writes.
Jackson Lee and Whitmire have dominated an open mayoral race that drew 17 candidates to the ballot in the Texan metropolis and one write-in candidate, and that has been focused on issues of crime, crumbling infrastructure and potential budget shortfalls.
If elected, Jackson Lee would be Houston’s first Black female mayor. Since 1995, she has represented Houston in Congress. Whitmire has spent five decades in the Texas legislature, where he has helped drive policies that were tough on crime while casting himself as a reformer.
If no candidate manages to get more than half of the vote today, the top two will head to a runoff, which would be held December 9.
Jackson Lee, 73, and Whitmire, 74, have touted their experience in a race to lead one of the youngest major cities in the US.
About two weeks before the election, Jackson Lee’s campaign had to contend with the release of an unverified audio recording, which is purported to capture her berating staff members with a barrage of expletives.
Booming growth over the last decade in Houston has caused municipal headaches but has also turned the area into an expanding stronghold for Texas Democrats. Although the mayoral race is nonpartisan, most of the candidates are Democrats.
Whitmire and Jackson Lee are seeking to replace Mayor Sylvester Turner, who has served eight years and can’t run again because of term limits.
Supreme court leans toward domestic-violence gun curbs
US supreme court justices on today appeared inclined to uphold the legality of a federal law that makes it a crime for people under domestic violence restraining orders to have guns in the latest major case to test the willingness of its conservative majority to further expand gun rights, Reuters reports.
The justices heard arguments in an appeal by Joe Biden’s administration of a lower court’s ruling striking down the law – intended to protect victims of domestic abuse - as a violation of the US constitution’s second amendment right to “keep and bear arms”.
The New Orleans-based fifth US circuit court of appeals concluded that the measure failed a stringent test set by the supreme court in a 2022 ruling that required gun laws to be “consistent with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation” in order to survive a Ssecond amendment challenge.
Some of the conservative justices questioned the scope of the administration’s argument that, under the second amendment, people who are not law-abiding and responsible – categories that include domestic abusers – may be barred from possessing firearms.
Some of their questions, however, signaled openness to a standard that would permit laws that disarm people deemed dangerous, as opposed to merely irresponsible.
Chief justice John Roberts, who leans conservative, focused on the word “responsible”, suggesting that it was too broad.
I mean, not taking your recycling to the curb on Thursdays, if it’s a serious problem it’s irresponsible,” Roberts said.
He added that:
What seems irresponsible to some people might seem like, well, it’s not a big deal to others.”
He also cited examples of a person who gets in a fist fight at a sports event or drives a small amount over the speed limit.
Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, defending the law on behalf of the Biden administration, told Roberts that she was not using the term “not responsible” in a colloquial sense, instead asserting “the principle of responsibility as being intrinsically tied to the danger you would present if you had access to firearms”.
And the reason that we use the term ‘not responsible’ is because it is the standard this court has articulated” in its three major gun rights rulings in the past 15 years, Prelogar said.
Prelogar also told the justices that the law fits within the nation’s tradition of taking guns from people deemed dangerous, thus meeting the standard the court itself has established for withstanding a second amendment challenge.
Updated
Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty last month to three federal gun charges – in the politically fraught case that could go to trial in the heat of US president Joe Biden’s 2024 re-election campaign.
Hunter Biden, 53, the first child of a sitting president to be criminally prosecuted, was arraigned at a court in Wilmington, Delaware, in early October, accused of unlawfully possessing a gun as an illegal drug user and lying about his drug use on a background check form when he bought a Colt Cobra revolver in 2018.
The indictment was secured in September by the special counsel, David Weiss (see previous post), after a plea agreement between Biden and prosecutors collapsed in August. Under that deal, Biden had agreed to plead guilty to misdemeanor tax violations and would avoid punishment on the gun charges if for two years he did not possess a firearm and refrained from using illegal drugs and alcohol.
The US justice department has not said whether it will also bring an indictment over separate tax misdemeanour charges but the special counsel has indicated they could come in Washington or in California, where Hunter lives.
In Congress, House Republicans – eager to divert attention from the multiple criminal indictments faced by Donald Trump – are seeking to link Hunter Biden’s dealings to his father’s through an impeachment inquiry. Republicans have been investigating Hunter since his father was Barack Obama’s vice-president.
While questions have arisen about the ethics surrounding the Biden family’s international business, no evidence has emerged so far to prove that Biden, in his current or previous office, abused his role or accepted bribes.
Hunter Biden prosecutor testifies before Congress in unique event
The prosecutor overseeing the investigation into Hunter Biden, the son of US president Joe Biden, is testifying today, in a situation marking the first time a special counsel will appear before the US Congress in the middle of a case, the Associated Press reports.
Special counsel David Weiss is appearing for a transcribed interview before members of the House Judiciary Committee as the US attorney battles Republican allegations that he did not have full authority in the years-long case into the younger Biden.
Mr Weiss is prepared to take this unprecedented step of testifying before the conclusion of his investigation to make clear that he’s had and continues to have full authority over his investigation and to bring charges in any jurisdiction,” Wyn Hornbuckle, a spokesperson for Weiss, said in a statement issued yesterday.
The rare move by the Justice Department to allow a special counsel or any federal prosecutor to face questioning before the conclusion of an investigation indicates just how seriously the department is taking accusations of interference.
Weiss’ appearance comes after months of back-and-forth negotiations between Republicans on the Judiciary Committee and the Justice Department as lawmakers subpoenaed several investigators and attorneys involved in the Hunter Biden case.
The interview today is expected to focus on testimony from an Internal Revenue Service agent who claimed that under Weiss, the investigation into the president’s son was “slow-walked” and mishandled.
What information, if any, Weiss will be able to provide to Congress is unclear as under Justice Department policy and the law, he will be unable to address the specifics of his investigation.
Some more background on this in our next post….
Millions are voting in almost 40 states across the country today, in the biggest election between now and the decision on the White House next November.
Here are some scenes:
Here in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the mayoral seat is up for grabs.
Reproductive rights are literally and figuratively Issue 1 in Ohio today.
Something else important is on the ballot in Ohio, too.
Fierce fight in Kentucky gubernatorial contest.
And here
Updated
In the year since the US supreme court overturned Roe v Wade, a version of this conversation has played out across the country – and at the ballot box.
In 2022, abortion rights supporters won every abortion-related referendums put to voters. This year, Ohio will become the first reliably red state to vote on whether to explicitly add abortion rights to the state constitution since the fall of Roe.
Millions of dollars have flooded into Ohio in the last several weeks. Recent filings show that Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights, a name for the coalition backing Issue 1, has reported bringing in nearly $30m since August, including $3.5m from a group linked to billionaire George Soros.
That’s far more than the anti-abortion side has raised: Protect Women Ohio, a coalition that’s leading the charge against Issue 1, reported raising just shy of $10m. Money flowed into the coalition through its action fund, which received donations from the influential anti-abortion group SBA Pro-Life America and the Concord Fund, an organization linked to conservative power broker Leonard Leo.
Issue 1 lawn signs are visible across the state, with “Vote Yes” signs often placed right beside signs urging people to “Vote No”. Ohio residents reported being bombarded with ads for one side or the other.
But the barrage of information about the vote has also left many Ohioans bewildered. Some of the confusion stems from the fact that this is the second time Ohioans have gone to the polls this year to vote on an “Issue 1”. In August, Ohioans voted on a measure that would have made it harder to amend the state constitution. At that time, people who supported abortion rights were urged to vote “no”. Now, they have to vote “yes” to protect the procedure.
Full report here.
Meanwhile, here is the Guardian’s piece, tracking where abortion laws stand in every state. Almost 17 months after Roe fell at the hands of a hard-right controlled Supreme Court, abortion is now nearly completely banned in 14 US states.
The vote on Issue 1 in Ohio today will have both political and medical consequences that stretch beyond the state. Issue 1 is the only abortion-related referendum this year, and the results will indicate whether the backlash to the demise of Roe v Wade will continue to translate into wins at the ballot box.
If Issue 1 fails, the Ohio state supreme court will be free to reinstate a six-week abortion ban, outlawing the procedure before many people even know they’re pregnant. Ohioans who want abortions will need to flee to other states for the procedure, contributing to pressure on abortion clinics throughout the country.
Supporters of Issue 1 are cautiously optimistic: an October poll found that 58% of Ohio residents planned to vote yes. “You just start going through these doomsday scenarios of what happens if we have an abortion ban,” said Representative Emilia Sykes, a Democrat whose district includes Akron, Ohio. “We are going to prevail on Tuesday, and hopefully continue to send the message to leave us alone. Really, just leave us alone.”
Over the last several weeks, Parinita Singh, 32, has spent roughly 30 hours canvassing houses in support of Issue 1.
At one home, with a sign out front reading “Be a Patriot: VOTE PRO-LIFE”, she entered into a cordial but spirited verbal sparring match with a man in his 80s. The pair touched on seemingly every argument in the US abortion debate: is a fetus a person or a clump of cells? Can’t people just choose to give up their kids for adoption? Should men get a say? What about religion?
The man, who declined to give his name to the Guardian, tried to press Bible pamphlets into Singh’s hands.
“God doesn’t force his opinions on anybody,” he told her.
“Sounds like he is, if he’s telling women not to have abortions,” Singh replied.
In Ohio today, voters will decide whether to pass a constitutional amendment guaranteeing an individual right to abortion and other forms of reproductive healthcare, the Associated Press reports.
Ohio is the only state to consider a statewide abortion-rights question this year, fueling tens of millions of dollars in campaign spending, boisterous rallies for and against the amendment, and months of advertising and social media messaging, some of it misleading.
With a single spotlight on abortion rights this year, advocates on both sides of the issue are watching the outcome for signs of voter sentiment heading into 2024, when abortion-rights supporters are planning to put measures on the ballot in several other states, including Arizona, Missouri and Florida. Early voter turnout has also been robust.
Public polling shows about two-thirds of Americans say abortion should generally be legal in the earliest stages of pregnancy, a sentiment that has been underscored in half a dozen states since the Supreme Court’s decision reversing Roe v. Wade in June 2022.
In both Democratic and deeply Republican states — California, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana and Vermont — voters have either affirmed abortion access or turned back attempts to undermine the right.
Voter approval of the constitutional amendment in Ohio, known as Issue 1, would undo a 2019 state law passed by Republicans that bans most abortions at around six weeks into pregnancy, with no exceptions for rape and incest. That law, currently on hold because of court challenges, is one of roughly two dozen restrictions on abortion the Ohio Legislature has passed in recent years.
Supreme court to weigh legality of gun ownership of people under domestic violence restraining orders
The US supreme court is set to weigh the legality of a federal law that makes it a crime for people under domestic violence restraining orders to have guns, Reuters reports.
This is the latest major case to test the willingness of the court’s conservative majority to further expand gun rights.
Oral arguments are scheduled today in an appeal by Joe Biden’s administration of a lower court’s ruling striking down the law - intended to protect victims of domestic abuse - as a violation of the US Constitution’s Second Amendment right to “keep and bear arms.”
The New Orleans-based 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that the measure failed a stringent test set by the Supreme Court in a 2022 ruling that required gun laws to be “consistent with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation” in order to survive a Second Amendment challenge.
Advocacy groups for victims of domestic violence have warned of the grave danger posed by armed abusers, citing studies that show that the presence of guns increases the chances that an abused intimate partner will die.
In a nation bitterly divided over how to address firearms violence including frequent mass shootings, the court’s 6-3 conservative majority has taken an expansive view of the Second Amendment and has broadened gun rights in three landmark rulings since 2008.
Its 2022 ruling in a case called New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v Bruen recognized a constitutional right to carry a handgun in public for self defense, striking down a New York state law.
The current case involves Zackey Rahimi, a Texas man who pleaded guilty to illegally possessing guns in violation of the law at issue on Tuesday while he was subject to a restraining order for assaulting his girlfriend in a parking lot and later threatening to shoot her, leading to a series of court decisions and appeals.
Biden’s administration has said the law should survive because of the long tradition in the US of taking guns from people deemed dangerous.
Supporters of Rahimi have argued that judges too easily issue restraining orders in an unfair process that results in the deprivation of the constitutional gun rights of accused abusers.
A ruling is expected by the end of June.
The supreme court itself is under pressure to institute ethics rules, in the wake of scandals chiefly involving its most conservative judges.
Updated
Abortion rights, Biden weakness key issues for voters in national elections
Voters go to the polls in almost 40 states today in crucial elections that will prove a major test of sentiment on Democratic and Republican leadership and key policies less than one year out from the presidential election.
Ohio has put the right to an abortion directly on the ballot, asking voters to choose whether to include the right in the state constitution. Such measures have had success in several states that have tested them since Roe v Wade was overturned in June 2022, including red state Kansas and swing state Michigan.
Abortion is also a major voting issue in Virginia today, where results are expected to prove a bellwether for how things could go across the country next year, too, on abortion and on Republicans’ appeal to voters.
Virginia Republican governor Glenn Youngkin, a rising GOP star, wants to pass a law limiting abortion rights to 15 weeks, as what the party hopes will be a kind of compromise between the harsh bans enacted elsewhere and the Roe-era right to an abortion up to fetal viability of around 25 weeks. Democrats narrowly control the state senate while Republicans control the lower chamber, the house of delegates, in the state’s general assembly. If the GOP can flip the house today, it’s all systems go for Youngkin, raising his national profile as a moderate (by today’s hard right standards) Republican even higher.
If Democrats cling onto control in the Virginia senate and then Democratic governor Andy Beshear is re-elected in the strongly pro-Trump state of Kentucky, then the party will take huge cheer from either or both of those victories.
Beshear has been trying to avoid being roped in with Joe Biden, during his election campaign, as the US president is polling poorly across the board but particularly with the kind of independents and moderate conservatives he lured away from Donald Trump in 2020 and, especially after Roe, in the midterm elections last year.
Election day puts abortion top of agenda for many voters
Good morning, Tuesday is the biggest voting day in America before the presidential election next November and while millions of voters go to the polls in almost 40 states there are some key races and issues that everyone is watching.
The polls are open in many places already and we’ll bring you the news as it happens during the day – and also tonight when polls close and we start to see which way things are leaning.
Here’s what’s afoot:
The right to an abortion will be a leading issue in voting today across the country, as it was in the midterms last November and will be in 2024, after the US supreme court overturned Roe v Wade in June 2022, ending the federal right to an abortion. It’s directly on the agenda in Ohio today, with a ballot measure to enshrine the right to an abortion in the state constitution. And it’s front and center in Virginia, where the governor wants to introduce a 15-week ban on the procedure.
Virginia is one to watch as all 140 seats in the state’s general assembly are up for grabs. The GOP control the lower house of delegates and want to flip the upper chamber, the Democrat-majority senate and hand high-profile Republican governor Glenn Youngkin the trifecta. That would smooth passage of the litmus-test 15-week abortion limit he wants to pass.
In two big gubernatorial races, Kentucky’s popular Democratic governor Andy Beshear is running for re-election against Republican state attorney general Daniel Cameron and in Mississippi, Republican governor Tate Reeves, is running for re-election against the Democrat Brandon Presley, a former small-town mayor who’s a cousin of Elvis Presley.
Election day means that the court is not sitting in New York where Donald Trump and his business empire are going through a $250m fraud trial that threatens to end his business career in the state where it all began. After an uproarious stint on the stand yesterday, Trump’s back in Florida for a rally tomorrow while daughter Ivanka testifies as a witness at the civil trial.
The US supreme court is set to hear oral arguments in a key case that tests the legality of a federal law that makes it a crime for people under domestic-violence restraining orders to have guns.
