Voters in Ohio will decide whether to approve a measure known as Issue 1 that seeks to make it more difficult to amend the state constitution, and could have ramifications for a plan to protect abortion access that voters will consider in November, CBS News reports.
Issue 1 is the only matter on the ballot in Tuesday’s special election, and polls close at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Politico has election results.
Leave your reactions in the comments as results come in.
“After nearly a year of political wrangling, Ohioans decide today whether to make it harder to both bring amendment proposals and to amend the state constitution. But many have already banked their votes. This year’s August special election — typically a sleepy, low turnout affair — has seen historic turnout already,” the Ohio Capital Journal reports.
“Nearly 700,000 Ohioans cast a ballot early either by showing up in person or returning an absentee ballot. Those figures will likely climb further as additional ballots arrive in the mail.”
Columbus Dispatch: “Rural counties with smaller populations saw shorter lines to vote on Saturday and Sunday. Yet in Ohio’s larger counties, lines stretched out the door as voters waited in 90-degree heat to cast their ballot.”
“Mississippi election officials have made 161 voting precinct changes since November 2022, leaving voters with slightly fewer voting precincts statewide and dozens moved after the completion of post-Census redistricting efforts,” the Mississippi Free Press reports.
Associated Press: “Both sides stuck largely to scripts written in the early months of their general election showdown as they campaigned at the Fancy Farm picnic, traditionally seen as the jumping-off point for fall elections in Kentucky. This year, however, both Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear and Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron have been going at it for weeks, pounding away at many of the same notes they struck Saturday.”
CNN: Kentucky Republicans seek to nationalize gubernatorial race as state Democrats keep focus local.
ABC News: “An analysis from FiveThirtyEight found that in 38 special elections held so far this year, Democrats have outperformed the partisan lean — or the relative liberal or conservative history — of the areas where the races were held by an average of 10%, both romping in parts of the country that typically support the party while cutting down on GOP margins in red cities and counties, too.”
The two young, Black Tennessee state House Democrats whose expulsion sparked a nationwide controversy in April, will win reelection on Thursday, CNN projects.
Vox: “Mississippi is a lighter shade of red than outsiders might think. It’s been consistently easy in recent years for Democrats to get up to 45 percent of the vote here, but nearly impossible for them to top 50.”
“In 2023, their hope is that Brandon Presley, a longtime elected public service commissioner from the northeast corner of the state with a fondness for Diet Mountain Dew and folksy aphorisms, can somehow break their streak and win the state’s odd-year gubernatorial election.”
“It has been several tough years for Democrats in Ohio, leading the broader party ecosystem to question every investment in the state,” The Messenger reports.
“But back-to-back constitutional amendment votes this year – the first on raising the threshold for approving constitutional amendments and the second on abortion rights – offer Ohio Democrats a chance to show not all is lost in the Buckeye State.”
“Ohio voters will head to the polls on August 8 to decide whether to make it more difficult for citizens to amend the state’s constitution, a question that is a direct response to a November vote that would create a constitutional right to an abortion in the state.”
A new Public Opinion Strategies (R) poll in Kentucky found Gov. Andy Beshear (D) leading challenger Daniel Cameron (R) in late June, 52% to 42%.
A second poll conducted by the same pollster last week found Beshear leading Cameon, 49% to 45%.
A new Morning Consult poll finds Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear — a Democrat running for re-election this year in a deep-red state — with a 64% to 32% approval rating.
“His approval rating among GOP voters is stronger than any other Democratic governor, resisting drag from President Joe Biden’s poor standing in the Bluegrass State and setting up a formidable challenge for Republicans hoping to unseat him.”
Meanwhile, the other incumbent governor up for re-election this fall, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves (R), is among the country’s least popular.
“An exonerated member of the Central Park Five, Yusef Salaam, is poised to win a Democratic primary race for a New York City Council seat in Harlem,” CNN reports.
“New York City uses a system known as ranked choice voting in primary and special elections for many local offices, where voters can rank up to five candidates in order of their preferences… As of Wednesday morning, Salaam had received 50.1% of the vote.”
In an upset, Utah Republicans tapped Celeste Maloy (R) at a convention to replace Rep. Chris Stewart (R-UT) in an upcoming special election, the Salt Lake Tribune reports.
Maloy, a former Stewart staffer, triumphed over former state House Speaker Greg Hughes (R), a prominent Trump supporter.
“The battle for Virginia’s future — and 2023’s biggest down-ballot elections in the country — can now begin in earnest,” Politico reports.
“Gov. Glenn Youngkin aims for unified Republican control in a state that hasn’t gone for a GOP presidential candidate since George W. Bush, and Democrats hope to retake enough seats to defend abortion rights in the state.”
“Both parties are expected to dominate the airwaves over the next five months, with every single legislative seat across the two chambers up for grabs in November. Virginia is one of two states with a split legislature — Democrats have a slim majority in the state Senate while Republicans have a narrow one in the state House — and both parties believe they have a viable path to controlling either chamber.”
“Virginia legislative candidates raised more than $20 million in cash and other donations in just over two months in the run-up to next week’s primary election,” the AP reports.
“Democratic candidates for the Virginia Senate and for the House of Delegates collectively outraised their Republican peers during the reporting period that ran from April 1 through June 8, bringing in about $14 million of the approximately $22 million total.”
Salt Lake Tribune: “Utah cities and towns will have to push their municipal elections back a couple of weeks as lawmakers will postpone the elections in order to replace outgoing Rep. Chris Stewart in Congress as soon as they legally can.”
“It will be the first time in at least the last several decades, and perhaps in Utah history, that a general election will not be held on the first Tuesday in November.”
“Former Colorado state senator Mike Johnston claimed victory as opponent Kelly Brough conceded Tuesday night in a runoff election to become Denver’s next mayor,” the AP reports.
“Republican worries are growing that Colorado is slipping further into the hands of Democrats after recent defeats and close calls in the most conservative parts of the state,” The Hill reports.
“The latest blow to the GOP in the Centennial State came this week when Republicans lost the mayoral race in Colorado Springs, marking the first time in decades that a member of the party wouldn’t take the helm of the conservative bastion.”
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) “is set to issue a third round of endorsements Thursday in Virginia legislative races, backing 19 more Republican candidates, including six who are in contested primaries,” the AP reports.
Taegan Goddard
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.
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