The main media outlets only seem to concentrate on the biggest election stories, which is too bad, because there was a lot of good news down ballot that didn’t get talked about. Let’s look at those stories:
Virginia
Yes, this was the big story of the night and yes, it was a huge disappointment to lose the Governor, Lt. Governor and Attorney General. The Republicans also flipped just enough seats to take the majority in the House of Delegates (52-48) but it’s important to note that the Democrats still hold the majority in the state Senate.
I do think it’s important context to know that in the last 12 governor elections, the candidate of the same party as the current president LOST 11 times.
New Jersey
On Wednesday, the AP (and other outlets) called the election for Gov. Phil Murphy in what ended up as a very tight race. That makes Murphy the first Democratic governor in the state to win re-election in over 40 years.
Although Republicans flipped some seats in the state legislature, the Democrats are expected to hold their majorities in both chambers.
Maine
In a special election for Maine’s House District 86, Raegan LaRochelle (D) flipped the seat.
Congressional Seats
Ohio 11th District — This is the district formerly held by Democrat Marcia Fudge; Democrat Shontel Brown won the seat. This is a HOLD for the Democrats.
Ohio 15th District — This is the district formerly held by Republican Steve Stivers; Republican Mike Carey won the seat. This is a HOLD for the Republicans.
They will both be sworn into Congress today.
Pennsylvania
The Republicans defended an open seat on the state Supreme Court. That said, the Democrats retain their 5-2 majority.
Mayors
Boston will not have a white man as mayor for the first time in 200 years. Michelle Wu, daughter of Taiwanese parents and a progressive Democrat, won the race.
In Minneapolis, the incumbent Democratic mayor was hoping to win re-election especially after leading the city through the protests following the murder of George Floyd. He did win his race.
In New York, Eric Adams, a former police chief and moderate Democrat won his race.
Pittsburgh elected Ed Gainey, who will be the city’s first Black mayor.
Justin Bibb, 34, will become Cleveland’s next mayor, having run on a platform of backing police reform and talking up technology.
Aftab Pureval is Cincinnati’s next mayor, becoming first Asian-American mayor in the city’s history and the only one in the Midwest.
Police Reform
In Minneapolis, MN, where the protests spurred by George Floyd’s murder originated, rejected a measure to overhaul the city’s police department with a new department of public safety.
In Austin, TX, voters rejected a ballot proposition (with 68% of the vote) that would have forced the city to hire hundreds of new police officers.
In Cleveland, voters approved an amendment to the city’s charter that will make sweeping changes to oversight of the police department, giving citizens the final say in disciplinary action.
School Boards
In Wisconsin, there was a high profile attempt by Republicans to recall the four members of the Mequon-Thiensville School Board by painting them as injecting Critical Race Theory (CRT) into schools. That attempt failed.
In Minnesota, three conservative candidates tried to win seats on the school board in Wayzata by running on denouncing CRT. They also failed.
In Connecticut, a slate of five candidates opposed to CRT lost their board of education races in the Guilford school system.
Arizona
In Tucson, the voters overwhelmingly passed a measure to increase minimum wage to $15/hr.
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TokyoSand, thanks for reporting this. What seems to get lost in the focus on Youngkin and his lack of veracity is Terry McAuliffe was no day at the beach either with his past. That may have been a another reason there was less enthusiasm for him. Yet, while you note some good results for Dems, we should not lose sight that Dems shot themselves in the foot by not getting it done in the US Congress. While the GOP has decided not to help govern even when their constituents would benefit from a law, the Dems have to come together and execute change. Idealism does not get stuff passed – collaboration does. Plus, the president needs to be more active in pushing things. Keith