The 2023 election proved to be a bruising night for Republicans, as Democrats scored major victories in Virginia, New Jersey, and Kentucky.
With the presidency, along with control of the Senate and House of Representatives on the ballot for voters across the country in less than 12 months, here are the takeaways from the off-year election teeing up what is expected to be a pivotal 2024 election.
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Bad news for Youngkin
Gov. Glenn Youngkin's (R-VA) hopes of having a GOP trifecta in Richmond were dashed on Tuesday, when Democrats held onto the state Senate and regained control of the House of Delegates. The battle to take control of both chambers was an uphill battle for Republicans, but two years after Youngkin's upset victory against former Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe the GOP was hoping to flip the state back fully to Republicans.
The 2023 elections in the commonwealth had been viewed as a test of the governor's influence in the Old Dominion, and with the Democrat wins he will face a difficult task passing agenda items in his last two years in office. Due to state law, Youngkin will not be allowed to run for a second consecutive term.
Although the fierce campaigning by Youngkin did not turn into Republican majorities in the state legislature, another issue appears to have given Democrats a boost.
Abortion is a problem for Republicans
In a repeat of the 2022 elections, when abortion was on the ballot Republicans generally lost to Democrats.
In Ohio, a state constitutional amendment to enshrine a right to abortion was on the ballot and it handily won in another setback for the anti-abortion movement.
Democrats had pushed for minimal restrictions for the procedure to terminate a pregnancy in states like Virginia, while Republicans unified behind a plan to allow for abortion until 15-weeks with exceptions. The result was Democratic victories in several key swing districts, where Democratic candidates had pushed to make abortion the main issue.
Democrats can win despite bad Biden polling
Another bruising defeat for the GOP came in heavily Republican Kentucky, where popular Gov. Andy Beshear (D-KY) won reelection over state Attorney General Daniel Cameron. While Beshear has been popular in the Bluegrass State, the leader of his party, President Joe Biden, has been deeply unpopular and the fear was Biden's unpopularity would spell doom for the incumbent governor.
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Beshear prevailed by nearly 5%, with nearly all of the votes tabulated, in a state where all other Democratic candidates lost statewide by roughly 15-20%.
Cameron had mostly touted his endorsement by former President Donald Trump throughout the race and attempted to tie Biden to Beshear, amid Biden's unpopularity. With Beshear winning despite poor polling numbers regarding Biden, especially in a reliably Republican state in presidential politics, it shows that bad polling for the president is not necessarily enough to sink Democratic candidates nationwide.