US Politics

American voters just sent a crystal-clear message: they believe in abortion rightsJill FilipovicAbortion rights voters delivered several key elections for Democrats. Now Democrats had better deliver for them The 2022 midterm elections were not the “red wave” of Republican dreams. They didn’t end up being a rebuke to the Biden presidency, a message about inflation or a protest against perceived crime rates.The only issue voters sent a clear message on? Abortion.Voters who came out to support reproductive rights seem to be one of the chief reasons Democrats weren’t absolutely routed. Abortion rights voters delivered several key elections for Democrats. And now, Democrats had better deliver for them.There are still some races outstanding, including important Senate battles in Georgia, Arizona and Nevada and a smattering of House races. But early numbers tell an important and definitive story: the Democratic base showed up in numbers that are wildly uncommon in a midterm election, particularly from a party that already controls Congress and the White House. Turnout this year surpassed the 2018 midterms, when Democrats surged to the polls to signal their disgust with Donald Trump. And exit polling suggests that these Democratic voters were overwhelmingly motivated by abortion, with 76% of Democrats listing abortion as their top issue, according to CNN polling. And voters generally – not just Democrats – said that they trusted Democrats over Republicans to handle abortion.Abortion rights supporters encouraged Democrats to prioritize abortion in their campaigns, but that strategy came with its fair share of detractors. Senator Bernie Sanders wrote in these pages that focusing on abortion over inflation and the economy was a mistake. (Democrats, in their defense, did overwhelmingly make their case about the economy, too; they just emphasized abortion rights more forcefully than at any point in my living memory.) It would appear that detractors got it wrong, and abortion was indeed a winning strategy.The Democratic line has been “abortion is on the ballot.” And in four states, it literally was: voters in California, Michigan and Vermont were asked to decide whether to enshrine abortion rights into their state constitutions; voters in Kentucky were asked to decide whether abortion rights should not be protected by their state constitution.Voters in all four states voted for abortion rights and against abortion restrictions, echoing the outcome of a ballot measure earlier this year in Kansas.This is an unmistakable pattern: when voters are given the chance to decide whether the state should outlaw abortion or if the choice should be left to a woman and her doctor, they tell the state to butt out. Even in conservative strongholds, state legislatures appear to be far more conservative on abortion than the voters they purport to represent.These abortion rights voters have also cast their ballots for Democrats more broadly. Candidates in several tight races, including in Michigan and Pennsylvania, emphasized that they would protect abortion rights – and those candidates won, bringing down-ballot victories for state legislators with them.In Pennsylvania, abortion was the number-one issue for voters, according to NBC exit polling – and 78% of voters who said abortion was their main issue cast their ballots for Democrat John Fetterman. Democrat Josh Shapiro also won against arch-conservative Doug Mastriano in Pennsylvania’s gubernatorial race. And while votes are still being tallied, Democrats seem to have done surprisingly well in races for seats in the Pennsylvania state legislature.In Michigan, voters sent a resounding message that they want abortion rights enshrined into the state constitution. They also re-elected Gretchen Whitmer, who ran on abortion rights in a state that has been engulfed in legal battles over the status of abortion. And they flipped the state legislature, handing Democrats control of all three chambers for the first time in nearly four decades.These voters are all clear: they turned out not just to put Democrats in power generally, but in support of abortion rights specifically.Now these voters will want results. Yes, delivering on abortion rights may be tough with a divided House and Senate – especially if Republicans gain control of one or both chambers. But Democrats were never under the impression that they could achieve overwhelming victory. They still promised pro-choice voters that if they turned out, Democrats would stand up for them. Now they have to make good on that promise, even if it’s tough.The Biden administration has been frustratingly tepid on abortion rights, and it’s beyond time for Democrats at all levels to get creative to secure abortion rights however they can. Elizabeth Warren and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have suggested, for example, that Biden could use his executive powers to allow abortion clinics to open on federally owned lands, including military bases.Congress could affirm the basic rights of all Americans to travel for medical care – which could help to stave off conservative efforts to criminalize those who help women cross state borders for abortions – and pass a bill protecting women and their loved ones from prosecution for pregnancy termination. (In my ideal world, Congress would pass a bill protecting abortion rights much more broadly, but that path will become impossible if Republicans gain power.) The FDA could treat abortion-inducing medications like any other prescription drug and evaluate them on safety and efficacy rather than politics – which, frustratingly, remains the case even with a Biden administration in the White House. And if Democrats do somehow manage to maintain control of Congress, Biden and the Democratic party truly have no excuse to not pass a bill enshrining abortion rights into law nationwide.The American people sent a loud message yesterday: we are a pro-choice nation, and we want the government out of our most intimate reproductive decisions. Republicans should listen, and realize that their party’s position – that abortion should be outlawed in nearly all cases – represents but a tiny minority of Americans; if they want to stay competitive, they should back off from their extremist positions.And Democrats should realize that these pro-choice voters just saved many of their hides, and recently elected Democratic politicians now owe them more than pro-choice platitudes. They owe what they promised: abortion rights.
Jill Filipovic is the author of OK Boomer, Let’s Talk
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Republicans have someone to blame for their disappointing result: Donald TrumpLloyd GreenTrump hangs over the ballot box like a malignant ghost. He scares more than he draws and, for Biden and the Democrats, he’s a gift that keeps giving On election day, the Republicans suffered widespread humiliation. The much-vaunted “red wave” emerged like a hoax, closer to a red ripple. Although the full results are still being counted, we know this much at least: that across all states and timezones, Republicans underperformed. This morning, the stench of failure hangs over Donald Trump and his party.With Trump’s specter hovering over the ballot box like a malignant ghost, democracy and abortion proved to be more resilient issues than predicted. Crime and inflation remained relevant, but not determinative. Suburban women went Democratic.Trump scares more than he draws. He’s a turn-off who can’t give up the spotlight or the lies. For Joe Biden and the Democrats, that’s a gift that keeps on giving. Chuck Schumer may well keep his job as the leader in the Senate.On the House side, Kevin McCarthy, the presumed next speaker, watches his margins shrink. Lauren Boebert, one of the House’s Trumpiest firebrands, is facing a tight count against her Democratic opponent. McCarthy faces the unenviable task of taming a caucus that is home to Marjorie Taylor Greene. That’s no one’s idea of fun.Looking at the map, voters in Pennsylvania rejected the one-term president’s picks for governor and senator. They said “no” to Dr Oz, the Harvard-educated snake-oil salesman, and Doug Mastriano, an extremist Christian nationalist linked to antisemites and far-right conspiracy theorists.In Georgia, the Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker – the Trump-tapped human mess, alleged domestic abuser, and absent dad – trails incumbent senator Raphael Warnock, minister of the storied Ebenezer Baptist church. Heading into a likely December runoff, Walker’s chances look iffy. The abortions Walker reportedly paid for have come with a political price.Further west in Arizona, Trump-blessed Kari Lake and Blake Masters are running second for governor and senator, respectively. Each bought into the lie that Trump won the 2020 election. On Tuesday, Lake also openly threatened the press.But it wasn’t just about personas and personalities. Traditional conservative positions on abortion and healthcare lacked purchase in otherwise reliably Republican states.In Kentucky, home of Mitch McConnell, voters rejected an attempt to gut the right of privacy and a woman’s right to choose. South Dakotans opted to expand Medicaid coverage against the backdrop of higher living costs. Amid America’s cold civil war, commonsense politics made itself felt.Looking back, the outcome in Kansas months earlier served as a harbinger of what followed. On Tuesday, Michiganders enshrined reproductive rights in their state’s constitution. It is unlikely that supreme court justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett had that outcome on their bingo-cards when they decided to overturn Roe v Wade.Michigan voters also gave a thumbs-down to a Republican gubernatorial candidate who claimed that a young rape victim, forced to carry a child to term, would benefit from the resulting experience, and a state attorney general wannabe who was caught on tape saying the government should restrict the sale of contraceptives.“The bond that those two people made and the fact that out of that tragedy there was healing through that baby, it’s something that we don’t think about,” Tudor Dixon told an interviewer. “The supreme court … has to decide, mark my words, that the privacy issue currently is unworkable,” said Matt DePerno, an advocate of election conspiracy theories and losing Republican attorney general candidate.Crime, however, retains its salience. Kathy Hochul, New York’s accidental governor, needed to call in the Democratic party’s biggest guns in a last-minute salvage effort. The president, vice-president and Bill Clinton all showed up in the Empire state in the campaign’s closing days to shore up morale.In 2020, Biden won New York by 23 points. In 2018, Andrew Cuomo coasted to re-election by an almost identical margin. Hochul’s final margin was less than 6%. The strong performance turned in by Lee Zeldin, her rightwing opponent, helped the Republicans flip several New York congressional seats, and may have cost Nancy Pelosi her gavel.Crime was also an issue on the west coast. Karen Bass, a favorite of progressives, is locked in a footrace for the Los Angeles mayoralty with Rick Caruso, a former Republican and a billionaire real estate developer.In 2017, Bass delivered a eulogy for a leader of the Communist Party USA. Three years later, Biden considered her as a possible running mate. As for Caruso, he garnered the endorsement of Bill Bratton – Los Angeles’ and New York City’s legendary former police chief.While Trump was eating crow and the current West Wing occupant was busy exhaling, Ron DeSantis, Florida’s Republican governor, was having the night of his life. He won re-election by 20 points, and emerged as a real threat to Trump’s hopes for a 2024 coronation.Trump is scared. Hours before the polls closed, he lashed out at DeSantis, and signaled that he was privy to the governor’s secrets – “things about him that won’t be very flattering”. Of course, after Stormy Daniels, there is little that voters would find shocking.Right now, “Ron DeSanctimonious” occupies rent-free space in Trump’s head. It’s game on for the Republican presidential nod. In the end, both men may emerge bloodied. Suddenly, Biden isn’t looking so old.
Lloyd Green is an attorney in New York and served in the US Department of Justice from 1990 to 1992
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Trump’s march back to power has faltered. Now comes the real challenge for the global leftMartin KettleThe US midterms have provided modest relief – but dilemmas facing US allies from Ukraine to the UK remain “It could have been a lot worse” will never be the most inspiring verdict on any election result, especially in a political and media environment that insists on absolutist conclusions and disparages nuance. In the case of the US midterms, however, it is the wisest one.American democracy is flawed and under threat. But an overlooked virtue of well-rooted democratic political systems, not just the US version, is that they rarely produce catastrophes, even if sometimes they can come close. The midterms were just such a non-catastrophe.Don’t get this wrong. For the Republicans to win control of the House, particularly in the aftermath of what happened in the US Capitol on 6 January last year, is a genuinely serious development. If Republicans eventually win back control of the Senate as well, it will be even more serious.Either way, it will have direct consequences for Joe Biden’s legislative agenda. It will be felt in Ukraine, as weapons procurement programmes intended for Kyiv become stalled. And it will strengthen the numbers of legislators on Capitol Hill who believe, or who say in public they believe, that Biden stole the 2020 election from Donald Trump.Election deniers in the Republican party won a lot of races this week. Their success in winning party nominations and then getting elected to Washington is an indication that much of the party remains the willing hostage of Trump and his Maga movement. But the midterms suggest that this will not be good news for Republican chances in 2024, especially if Trump is the presidential nominee.The nightmare fatalism that seemed to have overwhelmed many moderate and liberal observers about Trump’s return in the final days of the campaign was palpable. Yet it proved significantly misplaced. There wasn’t a landslide. And there isn’t – yet, at least – a tide carrying Trump back towards the White House either.If anything, these elections suggest election denial and the score-settling Trump agenda have become a drag on the party’s wider electoral chances. That’s now part of the reality of the next two years too. If, as expected, Trump declares next week that he is running in 2024, they will become an even bigger part.Ordinarily this might help his likely chief rival, Ron DeSantis. But Trump has the power to actively wound his party too. He is threatening to go to war with DeSantis if he runs. The internal conflict between them will also affect the larger electoral dynamic, possibly helping Biden or whoever runs next time.The deeper dive into how and why things have turned out this way can only come once all of the midterm contests are concluded – which will not be until December. Nevertheless, the Democratic vote has held up rather better than many expected, perhaps because of the supreme court’s abortion agenda, perhaps because Biden’s economic interventions have helped, and surely also because the Trump threat was a mobilising factor.As a result, prominent election deniers such as Doug Mastriano, the Republican candidate for state governor in the important swing state of Pennsylvania, were very badly beaten. Candidate quality was also an issue, notably in Georgia, another swing state these days. But voter reluctance over Trump could again be a crucial factor in 2024.Given that midterm elections are always a referendum on the incumbent president, and that Biden’s percentage approval ratings remain in the low 40s, these were always going to be tough contests. Given also that these are unfamiliarly tough economic times for middle America, with inflation (currently around 8% in the US, a 40-year high) seen as the most important issue by most voters, it would have been genuinely striking for the Democrats to buck the historic trend and hold on or even make gains. Unsurprisingly, that didn’t happen.This should be a warning to the Democrats, as well as a temporary relief. If the Democrats were able to limit their losses this time because disapproval of Trump outweighed dissatisfaction with Biden, it may follow that Biden was simply lucky in the way many voters framed the choice at the polls. A fresh candidate such as DeSantis would pose a different and conceivably more effective challenge.All of this underlines why those who watch the US from this side of the Atlantic should be careful too. It is always a mistake to oversimplify in politics. The midterms do not show that the country is hurtling towards a second Trump presidency. But they do not show that it is turning its back on Trump either.This uncertainty is a continuing problem for the whole world. It is certainly one for America’s western allies, since there is no way of predicting how the next two years will play out. In the long run no issue matters more in this context than the climate crisis. In the shorter run, the number one issue at stake is Ukraine.These two years may decide the outcome of the Ukraine war. So it matters to all European nations that the Biden administration will remain Kyiv’s principal ally, supplying the weapons and knowhow to keep Ukraine armed. Nevertheless, the approaching 2024 contest will cast a shadow. Democrats will not want an election with an unfinished war. Republicans could pledge to turn off the spending tap for Ukraine.The dilemmas facing Britain over all this are intense and immediate. For post-Brexit Britain, the US looms large as key ally and partner. Boris Johnson’s integrated review in 2021 of post-Brexit foreign and security policy imagined the US as the guarantor and enhancer of Britain’s roving role in the world. That was fanciful even before Ukraine and before talk of a Trump return grew louder. Now it is even more uncertain.Rishi Sunak, an instinctive Atlanticist, is learning foreign policy on the job. He cannot make airy assumptions about the US. He should make a priority of toning down the post-Brexit rhetoric about Britain’s role. He needs to recognise that a second Trump administration would be a minefield for Britain, and that he must prioritise a more practical approach to Europe.The same also applies to Labour’s response. As the 2024 US election approaches, so will Britain’s own. The inescapable foreign policy challenges facing Keir Starmer will in some ways be easier to navigate than they will for Sunak, since Starmer is more naturally in favour of good relations with Europe. But he will not want the British general election to be fought on that issue, so he may back away from it.The temptation, for Britain and other European nations, after the 2022 midterms is to allow modest relief at the outcome to stop us thinking strategically and in more self-reliant ways about how to respond to the new and profoundly uncertain United States that is evolving across the Atlantic. In an era dominated by the urgency of the climate crisis and the Ukraine war, that would be a foolish choice.
Martin Kettle is a Guardian columnist
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Soon after the first results had been declared in the 2020 US midterm elections it became clear that the “red wave” of Republican victories many pundits had thought would hand them control of both houses of Congress was not materialising as expected. And what was especially marked was that candidates backed by the former president, Donald Trump, had not fared well.

Many of these Republican candidates had followed Trump in denying the validity of the results of the 2020 US presidential election, something which may affect his decision about whether to run for the presidency in 2024.

This year’s midterms are highly consequential, with the US president, Joe Biden, a Democrat, declaring that “democracy is at risk”. After the 2020 election, which should have been heralded for a record-breaking turnout instead engendered conspiracy theories from the right wing of the Republican party. These have sowed doubt on the legitimacy of the election results among a significant minority of the US population.

As highlighted in a poll conducted by CNN in July 2022, only 57% of registered Democrats, 38% of independent voters and 29% of registered Republicans “said they were at least somewhat confident that elections reflected the will of the people”. But the root causes for such levels of confidence in election outcomes – or lack thereof – remains different for each set of voters.

For Republicans, many still possess lingering doubts about the validity of the 2020 US presidential election – despite claims of pervasive voter fraud continuing to be entirely unsubstantiated. On the other hand, many Democrats express concerns about the representative nature of future elections. A great deal of these concerns are due to the introduction of new voting laws – limiting postal voting, for example,or expanding voter ID requirements and reducing the number of places people can vote – that some argue make it more difficult for people to vote. This is thought to disproportionately affect voters from ethnic minorities that typically tend to lean Democratic.

New voting laws

The Brennan Center for Justice, a non-partisan organisation that monitors states’ voting rights, has identified a raft of new legislation in multiple states that affect voting rights.

Since the beginning of 2021, lawmakers have passed at least 42 restrictive voting laws in 21 states. Among those laws, 33 contain at least one restrictive provision that is in effect for the midterms in 20 states.

The Brennan Center went on to assert that the ten restrictive state laws passed in 2022 is the second-highest number (behind 2021) of such laws enacted in any single year in the past decade. “This is particularly noteworthy since this is an election year, which typically has less legislative activity overall than nonelection years.”

Of those 20 states that have adopted new restrictive voting laws in time for the 2022 midterm elections, most are typically Republican-voting states (Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Wyoming). Nevertheless, even traditionally Democratic-voting New York has introduced new legislation that affects absentee voting.

But, perhaps of most significance – and possible impact – are the new voting laws introduced in the swing states of Florida, Iowa and New Hampshire as well as Arizona and Georgia – two states that only narrowly voted for Joe Biden in 2020.

Voting underway in Georgia, which was a key swing state in the 2020 presidential election.
EPA-EFE/John Amis

Georgia’s S.B.202 is perhaps the new voting law – which even makes it illegal to supply food or drink to someone standing in line to vote – that has received the most attention. The American Civil Liberties Union has argued that the “bill attacks absentee voting, criminalises Georgians who give a drink of water to their neighbours, allows the state to takeover county elections, and retaliates against the elected secretary of state by replacing him with a state board of elections chair chosen by the legislature”.

The passage of the bill also received backlash from prominent corporations and prompted Major League Baseball to move the 2021 All-Star Game from Atlanta to Denver. Biden went so far as to describe Georgia’s new law as “Jim Crow in the 21st century.”

What these laws could mean

In light of these new voting laws coming in to force, many have expressed concerns about the possible implications for voters, particular people from ethnic minorities. Studies have shown that voting laws that require ID disproportionately effect voters of colour and result in an enlarged racial turnout gap. Voting laws that also remove mandatory early voting on Sundays – such as Georgia’s new bill that made it optional – reduce black voter turnout.

Despite these concerns, a recent study by American political scientist Alan Abramowitz argues that efforts by Republican-controlled state legislatures to suppress turnout by Democratic-leaning voter groups by imposing restrictions on absentee voting, early in-person voting and the use of drop boxes, or by requiring that voters present photo identification, are “unlikely to bear fruit.”

According to Abramowitz, “such efforts could even backfire by angering voters who are targets of these efforts and by causing left-leaning voting rights groups to increase their voter registration and GOTV [get out to vote] efforts.” Indeed, such arguments have been made by Georgia’s Republican secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, to defend the state’s new laws. He said recently that the fact that the number of people voting on Sunday before the elections is more than twice that of 2018, “shows that voters are enthusiastic, but most importantly, have the options available to get that vote in early.”

Of course, the true impact of these new voting laws will only be properly understood after the 2022 midterm elections have taken place. Even then, it may take some time to accurately account for turnout disparities that may have occurred as a consequence of such laws coming into effect.

Regardless, the ability to exercise one’s democratic choice by participating in free and fair elections should not be up for debate. The fact that such concerns are now widespread – on all sides of the political divide – is a worrying state for American democracy to be in. More

It may be a while until we know which party will win control of the House and Senate. But so far, the 8 November midterm has been full of surprises. Democrats have showed surprising strength in key races, defying what was broadly expected to be a Republican sweep amid high inflation and low approval rating for Joe Biden.
Two of three Virginia Democrats in districts considered bellwethers for the national mood have won reelection, in what was an early sign of good news for Democrats.
Democrat Josh Shapiro bested 2020 election denier Doug Mastriano in Pennsylvania’s governorship race.
Democrat John Fetterman declared victory in his race for Pennsylvania’s Senate seat. Maryland elected the first Black governor in its history, Democrat Wes Moore.
Florida’s voters tilted further towards Republicans, reelecting firebrand governor Ron DeSantis and senator Marco Rubio.
From Washington to New York, Democrats defied Republicans’ rosy predictions that they’d fall apart this year, even in their traditional strongholds.
JD Vance won the Republican Senate race in Ohio, dashing Democrats’ hopes of picking up another seat in the chamber.
Michigan voters reelected Democratic governor Gretchen Whitmer, and Democratic representative Elissa Slotkin in a hard-fought race. They also backed a ballot measure enshrining reproductive freedom.
Voters in Vermont and California also backed abortion rights measures.
Maryland’s Wes Moore will be the state’s first Black governor, and in Massachusetts Maura Healey will be the first out lesbian governor in US history.
Our Politics Weekly America team have been working through the night in the US to produce a special edition of the podcast looking at the early results. Jonathan Freedland is joined by Joan E Greve, columnist Richard Wolffe, and Chris Scott of Democracy for America, to look at what we know so far. You can listen to it here.No sign of the red wave – yet: Politics Weekly America midterms special Read moreSix-term Republican representative Mark Amodei has defeated Elizabeth Mercedes Krause, as expected, in Nevada’s rural northern district where no Democrat has ever won, the AP reports.The second congressional district was considered the only safe seat for either party among the four in the western battleground of Nevada, where three incumbent Democrats faced stiff challenges on Tuesday.It may be a while until we know which party will win control of the House and Senate. But so far, the 8 November midterm has been full of surprises. Democrats have showed surprising strength in key races, defying what was broadly expected to be a Republican sweep amid high inflation and low approval rating for Joe Biden.
Two of three Virginia Democrats in districts considered bellwethers for the national mood have won reelection, in what was an early sign of good news for Democrats.
Democrat Josh Shapiro bested 2020 election denier Doug Mastriano in Pennsylvania’s governorship race.
Democrat John Fetterman declared victory in his race for Pennsylvania’s Senate seat. Maryland elected the first Black governor in its history, Democrat Wes Moore.
Florida’s voters tilted further towards Republicans, reelecting firebrand governor Ron DeSantis and senator Marco Rubio.
From Washington to New York, Democrats defied Republicans’ rosy predictions that they’d fall apart this year, even in their traditional strongholds.
JD Vance won the Republican Senate race in Ohio, dashing Democrats’ hopes of picking up another seat in the chamber.
Michigan voters reelected Democratic governor Gretchen Whitmer, and Democratic representative Elissa Slotkin in a hard-fought race. They also backed a ballot measure enshrining reproductive freedom.
Voters in Vermont and California also backed abortion rights measures.
Maryland’s Wes Moore will be the state’s first Black governor, and in Massachusetts Maura Healey will be the first out lesbian governor in US history.
Earlier, Democrat Wes Moore made history by becoming the first Black governor of Maryland. He replaces Republican Larry Hogan, a moderate who managed to twice win election in what is otherwise a solidly blue state.The newly elected official assured the electorate “I hear you” and “this is our time” in his victory speech. Referencing his time in the army, Moore promised to “leave no one behind”. Joe Biden had joined Moore in a pre-election rally in Maryland the evening before election day. Here is the video clip.01:06Michigan voters enshrined protections for abortion rights, the AP projects.Voters approved a ballot measure affirming the right to make personal reproductive decisions without interference, and negating a 1931 ban on abortions.“Today, the people of Michigan voted to restore the reproductive rights they’ve had for 50 years,” said Darci McConnell, a spokesperson for Reproductive Freedom for All, which put forth the ballot measure. The measure marks a “historic victory for abortion access in our state and in our country – and Michigan has paved the way for future efforts to restore the rights and protections of Roe v Wade nationwide,” McConnell said.California resoundingly votes no on sports betting, Guardian tech reporter Kari Paul reports.Voters in California voted overwhelmingly to reject two gambling initiatives on Tuesday, marking a decisive end to the most expensive ballot proposition battle in US history.The two propositions would have expanded gambling access in the state in different ways: Proposition 27 aimed to legalize online and mobile sports betting while Proposition 26 would have allowed casinos and the state’s four horse tracks to offer sports betting in person.The online sports betting initiative was put on the ballot by sports betting companies including DraftKings and FanDuel, while Proposition 26 was funded by a coalition for Native American tribes.Nearly $600m was spent advocating for the propositions, more than double the record amount spent by gig economy firms such as Uber and Lyft in 2020 to classify their workers as contractors and block them from benefits and protections.Californians overwhelmingly rejected both propositions, with 84% voting no on Prop 27 and 70% voting no on Prop 26.State Democrats had opposed Proposition 27, but were neutral on Proposition 26. Democratic governor Gavin Newsom was neutral on both proposals. The California Republican party opposed both proposals.Democratic representative Elissa Slotkin has won reelection in a hard-fought Michigan race against Republican Tom Barrett.In 2018, Slotkin flipped a seat that was held by a Republican and won again in 2020 in a district that backed Donald Trump. She was seen as vulnerable once again this year, and the race was one of the top two most expensive races nationally, with both parties spending tens of millions on TV ads and mailers.Slotkin, a moderate who previously worked as an intelligence and defense department official who worked for both Democratic and Republican presidential administrations, was supported by Republican senator and Trump critic Liz Cheney.California voters have rejected a ballot measure that would have levied a wealth tax to fund the transition to electric vehicles.The measure, Prop 30, failed after California governor Gavin Newsom heavily campaigned against it, siding with Republicans over his fellow Democrats, environmental groups, firefighters and labor unions. In misleading ads against Prop 30, Newsom claimed it was a corporate carve-out for Lyft, the ride-hailing company that has backed the measure and helped fund its campaign.The environmental and public advocacy groups that developed the measure cried afoul. The measure had no provisions to specifically benefit rideshare companies, and Lyft only joined the effort to promote Prop 30 only after local groups developed the bulk of it.Among the biggest donors to the “No on 30” campaign were wealthy Californians who had also propped the governor’s campaign.Newsom this year issued an executive order banning the sale of new gas-powered vehicles by 2035, and allocated $10bn to the effort to subsidize electric vehicle purchases and build out charging infrastructure, but environmental groups said the funding will quickly fall short.Josh Green, a Democrat and Hawaii’s lieutenant governor, has won the race to be the state’s next governor, the AP projects.Green defeated Duke Aiona, a Republican and former lieutenant governor, by what appeared to be a wide margin. Aiona had run for the office twice before. At his election night party, Green told supporters, “Tonight is the first day of that new era where our leaders must start doing more to listen, to care and to work on issues that matter to all of us, that matter to you.”On the campaign trail, Green said he would address the housing shortage in the state by advocating for building 10,000 new units and cracking down on vacation rentals. He also pledged to fight for reproductive rights, noting his opponent’s opposition to abortion protections.BREAKING: Crowds cheering at Democratic HQ as it’s official — Josh Green beats Duke Aiona in landslide on first printout with 66% of the Hawaii vote #HIGov #ElectionNight @KITV4 pic.twitter.com/6Lh2hCS2Vq— Tom George (@TheTomGeorge) November 9, 2022
Kevin McCarthy, the House Republican leader, addressed supporters after an hours-long delay.The California congressman projected confidence that Republicans would take the House despite several dozen seats still undecided. “When you wake up tomorrow, we will be in the majority and Nancy Pelosi will be in the minority,” he told supporters in Washington.After a few key Democratic wins dashed expectations of an easy Republican sweep, McCarthy pointed to GOP wins in contested races in Texas and Virginia. Democrats have also kept seats in key Virginia districts, as well as contested seats in Kansas and Rhode Island.In Nevada, tight races might not be known for days, officials said. Dani Anguiano reports:Nevada Democrats and Republicans have urged patience as residents await to hear the outcome of several razor-thin elections, including the Senate race, one of the tightest in the country.Full results will not come in tonight, officials have said, and may not be known for several days. By 11:30pm PST, returns showed incumbent Catherine Cortez Masto ahead with about 51.2% of the votes to Republican Adam Laxalt’s 46% with 47% of precincts reporting, a lead expected to shrink.“I am confident in the campaign that we have built to win,” Cortez Masto said. “I am so grateful to every Nevadan who knocked down doors, who made phone calls and stood up and fought for our state.”The votes are still being counted. We know this will take time and we won’t have more election results for several days. I am confident in this team. I’m confident in the campaign that we’ve built to win. ¡La lucha sigue!— Catherine Cortez Masto (@CortezMasto) November 9, 2022
Laxalt, Nevada’s former attorney general who unsuccessfully ran for governor in 2018, said “we are exactly where we want to be in this race.“When we win this race, I’m gonna support our police and fight to make our streets safe again. I will not rest until we’ve secured our southern border,” he said. “We’re in for a long night and even a few days but we’re confident we’re gonna win this race and take back Nevada and take back America.”Sam Levine in Detroit reports: We don’t have all of the results yet, but election day did not appear to go particularly well for election deniers in competitive races.In Pennsylvania, Doug Mastriano, who played a key role in Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, lost his re-election bid to Josh Shapiro, a Democrat who put defending democracy at the start of his campaign. Jocelyn Benson, Michigan’s secretary of state who staunchly defended the 2020 election results also defeated Kristina Karamo, who rose to prominence after she spread false claims about fraud after ballots were counted in Detroit in 2020.“Well, well, well, democracy has prevailed,” Benson said as she took the stage at a Democratic victory party in downtown Detroit around midnight Wednesday. “Today Michigan voters showed the world that they will vote for truth over lies, facts over conspiracy theories, real results over empty promises.”Election deniers also lost races to be the top election official in New Mexico and Minnesota. Votes were still being counted in Nevada early Wednesday morning, where there is also a closely-watched secretary of state race.Democrat Tony Evers has won reelection for governor in Wisconsin, the AP has projected.CNN had previously called the race in a crucial battleground state. Evers defeated Trump-backed construction executive Tim Michels, and will be a key counterbalance against the state Republicans’ efforts to take control of the election system. Michels had said he would try to decertify the 2020 presidential results in Wisconsin, despite there being no legal mechanism to do so.Evers has been a key veto against Republican legislators’ efforts to disrupt election systems. That veto power may not hold if Republicans win a supermajority in the legislature, but it’s unclear if they will.Evers campaign was boosted in its final days by a visit from Barack Obama.“Some people call it boring, but as it turns out, Wisconsin, boring wins,” he said in his victory speech.The AP has called a few more House races in favor of Democrats. In a fiercely contested race in New York, Democratic representative Joseph Morelle fended off a challenge from Republican former police chief La’Ron Singletary. In Michigan, Hillary Scholten defeated former Trump administration housing official and far-right election denier John Gibbs. And in Ohio, Republican representative Steve Chabot lost his seat to Democrat Greg Landsman.New Mexico’s Democratic governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has won reelection, defeating Republican challenger Mark Ronchetti.Lujan Grisham honed in on the issue of abortion access. “Tonight New Mexico said ‘no’ to a political crusade that wants to turn women into second-class citizens,” she said in a victory speech.A former member of Congress and state health secretary, she was favored to win. Ronchetti, a former television meteorologist who never held elected office, had sought to distance himself from his party’s far-right policies, but fell short.Organizers claimed victory after Michigan voters appeared well on their way to approving a constitutional amendment that would significantly expand voting access and make it much harder for anyone to try and overturn the results of an election.The Guardian’s Sam Levine in Detroit reports:The measure, Proposal 2, establishes a fundamental right to vote in the Michigan constitution requires at least nine days of voting access and drop boxes, and allows voters to sign an affidavit if they lack photo ID, among other measures. And most significantly, it prevents officials from certifying an election based on anything other than the vote tally. That’s a huge deal in Michigan, where boards of canvassers nearly refused to certify the vote in 2020 at the county and statewide level without solid evidence.With 62% of the vote in early Wednesday, yes votes for the measure led 57.7% to 42.3%The measure’s passage marks the latest victory in a significantly growing grassroots voting rights movement in Michigan. In 2018, voters approved a constitutional amendment creating an independent redistricting commission and allowing for automatic and same-day registration.“Michigan voters clearly support ensuring every voice is heard and every vote is counted in every election no matter what political party or candidate we support, where we live or what we look like,” Micheal Davis, executive director for Promote the Vote, the coalition behind the amendment, said in a statement.Nancy Pelosi has issued a statement hailing an unexpectedly good performance by Democrats, even as votes are still being counted:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}While many races remain too close to call, it is clear that House Democratic members and candidates are strongly outperforming expectations across the country.
As states continue to tabulate the final results, every vote must be counted as cast.
Many thanks to our grassroots volunteers for enabling every voter to have their say in our Democracy. More

Ron DeSantis landslide victory brings Trump and 2024 into focusCrowd in Tampa chant encouragement to run for president as Florida governor revels in big win and even channels Churchill At Ron DeSantis’s election victory party in Tampa on Tuesday night, supporters of the rightwing Florida governor chanted: “Two more years!”Donald Trump warns party rival Ron DeSantis not to run for president in 2024Read moreGovernors serve four-year terms, but DeSantis is widely seen as a possible challenger to Donald Trump for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024. DeSantis’s strong performance in Florida on Tuesday – as other Republicans across the US faltered – has greatly strengthened that position.In a landslide victory, with more than 95% of votes in, DeSantis won 59.4% of the vote with 4,607,597. Meanwhile, the Democratic candidate, Charlie Crist, won just 40% of the vote with 3,100,603.Trump has been reported to be planning a 2024 announcement this month, seeking to capitalise on Republican success in the midterm elections. At a rally in Ohio on Monday, he trailed an announcement on 15 November.But on the night when the Republicans’ hoped-for “red wave” seemed unlikely – though control of the House and the Senate remained in the balance – the atmosphere at Trump’s Florida home, Mar-a-Lago, was reported to be anxious.In Tampa, meanwhile, celebrations of DeSantis’s convincing win over his Democratic challenger Crist were raucous.In a speech laden with allusions to his handling of the Covid pandemic – a source of great controversy and under which 82,541 Floridians have died, the third-highest total of any US state – DeSantis said: “We chose facts over fear, we chose education over indoctrination, we chose law in order over rioting and disorder.“Florida was a refuge of sanity when the world went mad. We stood as the citadel of freedom for people across this country and indeed, across the world. We faced attacks, we took the hits, we weathered the storms but we stood our ground.“We did not back down. We had the conviction to guide us and we had the courage to lead. We made promises. We made promises to the people of Florida and we have delivered on those promises. And so today, after four years, the people have delivered their verdict.”01:41DeSantis has refused to say if he intends to serve a full second term, awkwardly so in his debate with Crist. In Tampa, when supporters chanted “two more years”, the governor smiled broadly and said: “Thank you very much.”He did not address Trump at all, let alone the former president’s threat, reported earlier in the day, to reveal “things about him that won’t be very flattering” if DeSantis does mount a White House run.Polling of the notional Republican field for 2024 gives Trump big leads but DeSantis is the only other name to regularly attract double-figure support. The Florida governor regularly wins polls when Trump is left out.News outlets have reported that DeSantis has indicated to donors he may seek to avoid confronting Trump, waiting for 2028 instead.But the measure of DeSantis’s success on Tuesday, coupled with an easy win for the Republican senator Marco Rubio over his Democratic opponent, the congresswoman and former Orlando police chief Val Demings, may have changed the equation.In Tampa, DeSantis nodded to startling successes in previously solidly Democratic areas, most prominently Miami-Dade county, when he said: “Thanks to the overwhelming support of the people of Florida we not only won the election, we have rewritten the political map. Thank you for honoring us with a win for the ages.”He also nodded to policies that have proved controversial but profitable, particularly regarding Covid and cracking down on the teaching of LGBTQ+ issues and the history of race in America.“We have embraced freedom,” he said. “We have maintained law and order. We have protected the rights of parents. We have respected our taxpayers and we reject ‘woke’ ideology.”The speech had the ring of a politician with one eye on the national and therefore global stage. Given conservative Americans’ long-established veneration of Winston Churchill, it was perhaps not surprising that in a speech delivered with notable confidence, DeSantis echoed the wartime British prime minister.In a speech largely devoted to crowing over the American left, DeSantis echoed Churchill’s famous promise from 1940, when he said Britain would fight “on the beaches … on the landing grounds … in the fields and in the streets”.“We fight the woke in the legislature,” DeSantis said, to steadily mounting cheers. “We fight the woke in the schools, we fight the woke in the corporations. We will never ever surrender to the woke mob. Florida is where woke goes to die.”TopicsUS midterm elections 2022FloridaRepublicansRon DeSantisUS politicsnewsReuse this content More

US states vote to protect reproductive rights in rebuke to anti-abortion pushVermont, Michigan and California deliver blows to Republican agenda bent on dismantling the right to choose

US midterm election results 2022: live
US midterm elections 2022 – latest live news updates
Voters in multiple states passed measures to enshrine the right to abortion during Tuesday’s midterm elections, delivering a rebuke to the crackdown on reproductive freedoms taking place across the US.In Michigan, abortion rights campaigners declared victory on a ballot initiative looking to secure a constitutional right to abortion, meaning the state will now escape the imposition of a 1931 abortion ban that was on the books.JD Vance wins Ohio Senate race by wider margin than predictedRead moreThe state is the first in the US to fight off a pre-existing abortion ban with a ballot proposal, called Proposal 3, in a move that campaigners across the country see as a possible road map for other states.“Proposal 3’s passage marks an historic victory for abortion access in our state and in our country – and Michigan has paved the way for future efforts to restore the rights and protections of Roe v Wade nationwide,” Darci McConnell, the communication director for Reproductive Freedom For All, wrote in a statement, announcing the news after it was called by ABC and NBC.The news broke as other US states too saw victories for abortion rights initiatives.Vermont became the first state in America to protect abortion rights in its state constitution just before Michigan, calling their result on Tuesday after its voters resoundingly backed a ballot initiative by a huge margin. And in California, voters were on track to overwhelmingly pass a measure to enshrine into the state’s constitution the right to an abortion and contraception.“Vermont voters made history tonight,” said the Vermont for Reproductive Liberty Ballot Committee, which campaigned for the amendment, according to local news. All votes had not yet been counted at 11pm ET, but the yes campaign was leading by 77% to 22%.“Vermonters support reproductive freedom in all four corners of the state … and they believe that our reproductive decisions are ours to make without interference from politicians,” the committee said in a statement.In Vermont, the outcome was always expected, in a New England state so pro-choice that even the Republican governor backed Proposal 5. The proposal, brought by pro-choice advocates, means the constitution now determines that an “individual’s right to personal reproductive autonomy is central to the liberty and dignity to determine one’s own life course”.California’s Proposition 1, meanwhile, was positioned as a direct response to the US supreme court’s decision that overturned decades of established access and thrust the country into turmoil. Voter’s decisive support for Prop 1 will further enhance the state’s reputation as a haven for reproductive care just as restrictions – and political divisions – deepen across the country.The state’s governor, Gavin Newsom – who won re-election on Tuesday with a large majority – joined in the celebrations at a Prop 1 rally.Gavin Newsom speaking now at Proposition 1 rally, which is poised to pass by a huge margin to enshrine right to abortion in California constitution: “We affirmed we are a true freedom state.”— Ashley Zavala (@ZavalaA) November 9, 2022
“Governor Newsom made it clear that he wants California to be visible as a haven for people seeking reproductive healthcare and Proposition 1 is part of that,” said constitutional law professor Cary Franklin, who also serves as Faculty Director of the Center on Reproductive Health, Law, and Policy at the University of California Los Angeles. “It will get media attention and people will be made more aware that California is a place they can go.”The measure had been expected to easily pass, and analysts said support for reproductive rights could draw even more women and young people to the polls, which could play positively for Democrats in California’s conservative pockets.These wins deliver more blows for Republicans who are increasingly finding that, when put to a vote, Americans frequently do not agree with a sweeping agenda to dismantle abortion rights.So far, the anti-abortion movement has relied on judges, state houses and Republican lawmakers to curtail reproductive rights.But since the supreme court dismantled the constitutional right to abortion on 24 June, pro-choice advocates are increasingly looking to ballot initiatives as a way of shoring up rights. The anti-abortion movement suffered a huge blow over the summer when Kansas – a usually reliably red state – slammed down a proposal brought by the Republicans, looking to confirm there was no right to abortion in the state constitution.In Michigan the mood was already jubilant at the yes campaign’s watch party before they called the result, with voters screaming loudly, banging on tables and whooping in support of local voters, doctors and speakers from the American Civil Liberties Union and Planned Parenthood.“My name is Nicholas, and I live in Ingham county,” one campaigner took to the stage to say. Speaking about him and his girlfriend, he added: “We knocked on over 1,500 doors and walked over a hundred miles, talking to neighbors who – like the rest of us here – agree this is a fundamental right,” to screams and cheers.Nicole Wells Stallworth, executive director at Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan later added: “We are living in a time like no other. The US supreme court did something they have never done: They reversed Roe. They tried it. And as such, we needed a campaign like none other. This campaign turned out to be just that.”TopicsAbortionUS midterm elections 2022US politicsVermontRoe v WadeCalifornianewsReuse this content More

John Fetterman has defeated the Republican candidate Mehmet Oz, flipping a Senate seat in the highly competitive swing state of Pennsylvania. ‘We bet on the people of Pennsylvania and they never let us down,’ Fetterman said in his acceptance speech after a hard-fought campaign during which concerns about Fetterman’s health were raised by Oz’s team. 
Fetterman, who had a stroke this year, said: ‘Healthcare is a fundamental human right. It saved my life and it should all be there for you.’ 
The win raises Democratic hopes that the party can retain a slim majority in the Senate

Fetterman defeats Oz in Pennsylvania Senate race, giving Democrats a boost
US midterm election results 2022: live
Midterm elections 2022: Democrats beating expectations as John Fetterman wins crucial US Senate race – live More