Campaign Report
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Campaign Report
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What to know on Election Day 2023
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Voters are heading to the polls today in a handful of races that could offer insight into next year’s presidential election. Even Taylor Swift is getting in on the election buzz, telling her Instagram followers to get out and vote.
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© AP Photo/Steve Karnowski
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Here are some of the issues voters will decide today:
Ohio: The Supreme Court’s ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade has propelled abortion to a major issue on state ballots over the past year. Ohio is the latest to weigh in with an effort to add abortion rights protections to the state constitution. Abortion rights efforts in other states have been successful and helped propel Democrats since the court’s decision last year.
Virginia: Republicans are trying to take control of the state Senate and keep the GOP’s grip in the House, with Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) vowing to ban abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Both Democrats and Republicans have focused heavily on abortion in their campaign ads.
Mississippi: Gov. Tate Reeves (R) is hoping to win a second term, but is facing a rare threat from Democratic rival Brandon Presley, cousin of Elvis. The race has been marked with a fight over Medicaid expansion and allegations tied to a welfare scandal. Polls have suggested that Reeves is likely to be reelected.
Kentucky: Gov. Andy Beshear (D) is seeking reelection, facing GOP challenger Daniel Cameron, currently the state attorney general. Cameron has attacked Beshear’s more progressive positions on issues like LGBTQ rights and abortion. Polls have suggested that Beshear is likely to be reelected.
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Welcome to The Hill’s Campaign Report, we’re Liz Crisp and Caroline Vakil. Each week we track the key stories you need to know to stay ahead of the 2024 election and who will set the agenda in Washington.
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Key election stories and other recent campaign coverage:
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Ohio voters are heading to the polls Tuesday to decide on a proposed constitutional amendment – Issue 1 – that would establish abortion protections in the state’s constitution. A “yes” vote supports amending the Ohio constitution to establish the state right to “make and carry out one’s own reproductive decisions” and to allow the state to restrict abortion after fetal viability, except …
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Voters in Virginia are heading to the polls Tuesday to choose their leaders in both chambers of the state Legislature. Democrats currently hold the majority in the state Senate, while Republicans control the House of Delegates. Polls close at 7 p.m. ET. Follow the live results for the state Senate from Decision Desk HQ here. Follow the live results for the House of Delegates from Decision Desk HQ here.
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Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley hit competitor Ron DeSantis in a new ad on Tuesday ahead of the third GOP primary debate, labeling the Florida governor a liar and attacking him for his record on fracking and offshore drilling. The ad, which is titled “These boots are made for lying,” included a clip from a previous debate, during which Haley claimed DeSantis was against fracking and drilling, and DeSantis shook …
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Upcoming news themes and events we’re watching:
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Happening today: Kentucky and Mississippi’s gubernatorial general elections
- 69 days until the Iowa presidential caucuses
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363 days until the 2024 general election
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Governor’s race puts spotlight on Medicaid battle
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© AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis
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The battle between incumbent Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves (R) and Democratic challenger Brandon Presley is setting up what could be a major moment in the state over the push to expand Medicaid.
Mississippi is one of 10 states that has not expanded Medicaid since the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), commonly called Obamacare. Under the ACA, states have been able to provide health care coverage for the working poor, with the federal government picking up most of the tab. It’s bolstered state budgets and prevented the kinds of hospital crises that Mississippi currently faces, where multiple rural hospitals have shuttered or are facing financial difficulties.
Presley has vowed, if elected, he’ll expand Medicaid. Reeves has said he’ll continue to block expansion. The issue has become a major campaign point, dominating radio and TV ads.
A recent poll found that 72 percent of Mississippi voters surveyed favored expanding Medicaid, and 92 percent of those voters surveyed said they are concerned about the hospital crisis. Expansion in Mississippi has been projected to provide coverage to an estimated 200,000 people.
But no Democrat has been elected governor in Mississippi in more than two decades, and no Democrats currently hold statewide office.
The nonpartisan Cook Political Report has rated the race as a “lean Republican,” after initially rating it as a “solid Republican” match-up. Still, recent polls have shown Reeves with a strong lead, based on tracking from Real Clear Politics.
Neighboring Louisiana expanded its Medicaid program when Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards took office in 2016. More than 735,000 people have been insured through the expansion as of last month, according to the Louisiana Department of Health.
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LaRose weighs in ahead of Ohio ballot measure race
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© AP Photo/Jay LaPrete, File
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Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R) spoke with The Hill’s Caroline Vakil on Tuesday as voters head to the polls in the Buckeye State to weigh in on a proposed constitutional amendment that seeks to enshrine abortion protections into the state constitution.
“What I’m for is what can pass and protect the most lives in Ohio, and we’ll be eager to see what, if anything, the state legislature chooses to do on that pending, of course, the result of tonight’s election,” LaRose told The Hill.
Pressed on where Republicans go from here, should the abortion ballot measure pass on Tuesday, LaRose noted: “There may be conversation about action at the federal level. I know that that’s something that has been discussed by the pro-life community but again, that would be speculation as far as what the next steps would be.”
Gov. Mike DeWine (R), who’s made himself one of the faces for the campaign opposing the ballot measure, suggested in an interview late last month that “if we defeat this, then we’re all going to have to come back together as a state and come up with something that the majority of people can live with,” and cited exceptions for rape and incest that would be included.
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Branch out with a different read from The Hill:
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Voters head to the polls to choose their next governor in Kentucky. Polls close at 6 p.m. ET. Follow the live results from Decision Desk HQ here.
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Voters across the country are heading to the polls Tuesday to weigh in on a slew of statewide and local elections that could serve as a bellwether for next year’s congressional and White House races. Virginia voters will determine partisan control of their legislature, in a race widely seen as an indicator of Democrats’ strength heading into 2024. In Kentucky and Mississippi, voters will weigh whether to give Govs. Andy …
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Local and state headlines regarding campaigns and elections:
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Five counties that could decide KY governor election (Lexington Herald Leader)
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Innamorato, Rockey seek remaining votes in last stretch of Allegheny County executive race (WESA)
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Election news we’ve flagged from other outlets:
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Some Democrats worry Biden’s team is ignoring political warning signs (The Washington Post)
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Glenn Youngkin’s Presidential Ambitions Face Test in Virginia State Elections (Bloomberg)
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Key stories on The Hill right now:
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Ivanka Trump is expected to take the stand Wednesday as the New York attorney general’s final witness in its far-reaching fraud case against her father and the family’s business. Former President Trump’s eldest daughter, once described by his Deutsche Bank banker as the family business empire’s “heir apparent,” has all-but disappeared … Read more
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Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) warned Senate GOP leaders Tuesday not to circumvent Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s (R-Ala.) holds on Pentagon appointees, warning it would be a “mistake” for them to support a Democratic resolution to change Senate procedure. The Democrats are offering a standing order resolution that would allow them to get around … Read more
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Opinions related to campaigns and elections submitted to The Hill:
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You’re all caught up. See you next time!
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