Here are the poll closing times for some key races I’m watching:

7:00 p.m. ET – Virginia and Kentucky

7:30 p.m. ET – Ohio

8:00 p.m. ET – Mississippi

New York Times: “It is, of course, impossible to predict exactly when election results will be available. But in these off-year elections, with most polls closing between 7 and 8 p.m. Eastern time, it’s not unreasonable to hope for results in a timely manner.”

Leave your reactions in the comments.

Playbook: “For political junkies, off-year elections can feel like the Sunday before the Super Bowl does for sports fans. You’re hankering for the big showdown, but instead all you’ve got to watch is the Pro Bowl, and it’ll just have to do.”

“But this isn’t a meaningless exhibition game. Polls are opening this morning in nearly 40 states, with governorships, state legislatures and key policy measures, including abortion access, on the ballot. It’s the largest single day of voting till next November.”

Washington Post: These are the races that matter.

“Republicans are hoping to sink Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s reelection bid on Tuesday by tying him to the widely unpopular President Joe Biden,” ABC News reports.

“But in this ruby red state that Biden lost by more than 25 points three years ago, Beshear appears to be offering Democrats hope of local success amid party-wide handwringing: voters supporting both Beshear and his Republican challenger, Attorney General Daniel Cameron, told ABC News that the governor’s brand was strong enough to blunt any ties to the White House.”

“The state of Virginia is sending out tax rebate checks to qualified residents, just days before the state’s 2023 General Assembly elections,” NBC News reports.

“On Sept. 13, Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed the state budget into law. Included in that budget was a one-time tax rebate for individual and married Virginia residents who filed their 2022 income tax returns and have a tax liability. Qualified residents receive $200 if they filed individually, and up to $400 if they filed jointly.”

Former New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey (D) will announce plans next week to run for mayor of Jersey City — nearly 20 years after he resigned as chief executive of the Garden State, sources tell NBC New York.

McGreevy’s once-bright political career crumbled amid a scandal over threats by his scorned lover — who was a state employee — to sue him for sexual harassment.

Gabrielle Hanson (R), who lost the Franklin, Tennessee’s mayoral election last month, told a podcast that her loss was a result of election fraud — even though the race wasn’t even close.

Said Hanson: “Outside of Donald Trump, I don’t think there’s anybody that’s run for office that’s been as persecuted as I was.”

During the campaign, Hanson conceded that she pleaded no contest to a charge of promoting prostitution in the 1990s.

“For clues about the strength of both parties’ messages heading into 2024, look no further than this suburban Northern Virginia enclave, where Democrats and Republicans are betting big on a hotly contested state Senate race,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Typically, such local elections don’t have a major impact outside their direct communities. But this one could decide control of the Virginia legislature and Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s ability to enact conservative policies on abortion, taxes and education—making it closely watched in the run up to next year’s presidential race.”

Associated Press: “More than four-fifths of Mississippi’s legislative candidates will have no major-party opposition in the Nov. 7 general election.”

“And more than half of this year’s winners will have faced no other Republicans or Democrats in either the primary or the general election.”

Politico: “Youngkin and his political operation can succeed, it could have profound implications for the rest of the party — not just in Virginia, but nationally ahead of next year’s presidential election.”