Former Uvalde Mayor Elected Again; Houston Mayoral Race Headed for Runoff

Minnie Bounds, 74, fills out her ballot at Blackburn Laboratory Middle School in Jackson, Miss., on Nov.7, 2023. Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Brandon Presley Concedes Mississippi Gubernatorial Race

The Mississippi gubernatorial race has been called for Republican Gov. Tate Reeves.

Mr. Reeves defeated a strong challenge from Democrat Brandon Presley, a cousin to the late singer Elvis Presley.

“I respect the decision of the voters of Mississippi,” Mr. Presley said Tuesday night.

Houston Mayoral Race Headed for Dec. 9 Runoff

Two Democrats, U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and state Sen. John Whitmire, are heading for a Dec. 9 runoff after receiving the most votes out of a wide field of candidates for the Houston mayor post.

Their race was dominated by issues of crime, crumbling infrastructure, and potential budget shortfalls.

Democrats Win Both Chambers of Virginia Legislature

Virginia Democrats won both chambers of the state legislature on Tuesday night, in a stunning upset to Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s (R-Va.) party.

Democrats secured narrow majorities in both chambers: 21 out of 40 Senate seats and 51 out of 100 House seats.

Cody Smith Elected Mayor of Uvalde, Texas

In the first election held after the Uvalde mass school shooting in May 2022, former mayor Cody Smith was elected mayor once again on Tuesday night.

Mr. Smith had previously held the position of mayor in 2008 and was reelected in 2010.

The current mayor, Kimberly Mata-Rubio, who lost her 10-year-old daughter in last year’s school shooting, conceded defeat on Tuesday night.

Mr. Smith has over a decade of experience on the city council.

“I’ll never stop fighting for you, Lexi. I meant it when I said this was only the beginning. After all, I’m not a regular mom. I’m Lexi’s mom,” Ms. Mata-Rubio wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Rhode Island Elects Democrat Congressman

Rhode Island on Tuesday elected former White House aid Gabe Amo, a Democrat, to Congress.

Mr. Amo said he “didn’t run to make history” as Rhode Island’s first black congressman and said that he’s “humbled.”

The newly elected congressman said that he sees himself as fighting for the rights of women and working people, regardless of color.

Mr. Amo, who beat Republican Gerry Leonard, a Marine veteran, will fill the remainder of former Rep. David Cicilline’s (D-R.I.) seat in Rhode Island’s 1st Congressional District.

Ohio Votes on Ballot Initiative

Voters in Ohio approved a constitutional amendment to enshrine access to abortion on Tuesday.

The vote came in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade last year, a decision that sent the power to make laws concerning abortion back to the states.

The ballot initiative establishes that “every individual has a right to make and carry out one’s own reproductive decisions, including but not limited to decisions on contraception, fertility treatment, continuing one’s own pregnancy, miscarriage care, and abortion.”

Some view Ohio’s decision as a signal of how voters nationwide will feel about the issue ahead of the 2024 presidential race.

Cherelle Parker Elected Mayor of Philadelphia

Cherelle Parker, a Democrat, was elected mayor of Philadelphia on Tuesday night.

Ms. Parker, 51, who was a former teacher and state lawmaker, becomes the 100th mayor of the city, and the first woman in the role.

Gov. Andy Beshear Wins Reelection in Kentucky

The Associated Press has called the Kentucky gubernatorial race for Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, who secured a second term in office on Tuesday.

The Kentucky gubernatorial election has garnered significant national attention this year, and it has the potential to offer insights into the dynamics that may unfold in the 2024 presidential and congressional campaigns.

Mr. Beshear is the son of former two-term Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear. He secured a narrow victory in 2019 when he defeated incumbent Gov. Matt Bevin by a margin of approximately 5,000 votes.

Despite Kentucky’s Republican supermajority in the state legislature and former President Donald Trump’s 26-percentage-point win in the state in 2020, Mr. Beshear was ranked as the most popular Democratic governor in the nation according to a July poll conducted by Morning Consult.

Judge Orders Mississippi Polls to Stay Open Until 10 PM EST

A judge extended voting times in Mississippi’s largest county by one hour until 10 p.m. EST on Tuesday night after a number of polling places had ballot shortages.

The state’s Republican Party has filed a petition with the Mississippi Supreme Court to vacate the lower court’s order.

The shortages impacted several Jackson suburbs in Hinds County.

Hinds County Chancery Judge Dewayne Thomas ordered the extension, citing a number of disruptions caused by the ballot shortages.

“A number of precincts in Hinds County ran out of ballots during election day and are continuing to run out of ballots and others may run out going forward. It takes time to deliver more ballots to the precincts,” wrote Judge Thomas in his order.

“The Defendants did not take a position in response to the motion but acknowledged that several precincts had run out of ballots.”

The judge ordered the Hinds County Election Commission and the Hinds County Circuit Clerk to extend the closing hours for all precincts accordingly.

The Mississippi Democratic Party filed a petition with the court. Separately, Mississippi Votes, a nonpartisan group, filed its own petition in another court.

Polls in the Mississippi county were originally set to be open for 12 hours, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The Mississippi GOP filed an “urgent and necessitous” matter with the Mississippi Supreme Court to vacate Judge Thomas’s order, or alternatively, to modify the injunction “to require the ballots of all voters who are not in line at 7:00 P.M. to be segregated and not counted with ballots of voters in line prior to 7:00 P.M.”

“We further request that all segregated not be counted at the precinct and be returned to the Circuit Clerk’s office in a sealed ballot box. Immediate relief is required to avoid irreparable injury,” the filing states.

In a further update, polling places in four more Mississippi counties were ordered to stay open until 10 p.m. EST by another judge after Mississippi Votes filed a petition.

The four precincts where voting will be allowed until 10 p.m. EST are Byram City Hall, a United Methodist church in Raymond, and Wildwood Baptist Church and Northside Baptist Church, both in Clinton.