A victory for Republicans and Democrats over the governors and a clear signal on abortion rights: US election day, exactly one year after the presidential election, provided reassuring evidence for Joe Biden, especially with regard to the fact that the majority of Americans want it Protecting the right to abortion is a key issue for progressives and the president. Ohio is the seventh state to move forward following the Supreme Court’s 2022 Roe v. Wade in 1973, who introduced federal abortion rights. The yes votes reached 56%.
Biden celebrated the success in the evening with a message: “Tonight, Americans voted again to protect their freedoms.” And democracy won. The people of Ohio have rejected the MAGA Republicans’ attempt to impose extreme restrictions on abortion rights.” The abortion referendum marks a victory for the pro-choice movement by expanded the options for voluntary abortion. It will now be impossible for the state to intervene in citizens’ “reproductive decisions,” including issues of contraception and fertility treatments. The green light was also given for the legalization of cannabis for recreational purposes.
Another positive signal also came to the White House that night: In Kentucky, Democrat Andy Beasher (also a staunch Pro-Choice) was confirmed as governor. Republican challenger Daniel Cameron lost and instead supports the state’s restrictive abortion law, which makes no exceptions even in cases of rape or incest. Republican Tate Reeves, governor of Mississippi, was also re-elected.
– Cherelle Parker, 51: Philadelphia’s first female mayor celebrates victory
Philadelphia has elected the first female mayor in its history: Cherelle Parker, 51 years old, African-American, Democrat, who defeated her Republican rival David Oh. She movedly thanked the voters and celebrated the victory at her campaign headquarters. Parker was born in 1972 to a teenage single mother who died when she was just 11 years old. Parker was raised by her grandparents, a disabled Navy veteran and a domestic worker. A 1994 graduate of Lincoln University, she worked for a time as a high school English teacher in Pleasantville, New Jersey. In the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 2005 to 2015, she was elected to represent the Ninth District on the Philadelphia City Council in 2015 and re-elected in 2019, serving as Majority Leader from 2020 to 2022. In September 2022, she resigned from the Philadelphia House of Representatives and announced her candidacy for mayor, and on May 16 last year she won the Democratic primary.
The Democratic Party retained control of the Virginia Senate and had a narrow majority of 22 seats to 17 in the state Senate. For the Republicans, however, the election result marks the defeat of the political message of Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, who personally achieved a lot in the election campaign. Another small positive sign for Biden, after the disastrous polls of the last few days that placed him behind Donald Trump. According to the latest SSRS poll released by CNN, the former president is ahead at 49%, compared to 45% for the White House occupant. The bad news for the incumbent president is that 51% of respondents say they would never vote for him, while 48% say they would never vote for Trump. Among voters under 35, 48% support Trump and 47% support Biden. Among independent voters, 45% voted for Trump and 41% voted for Biden.