It’s election day. As James lays out over at Swing State Project, there are state elections in Kentucky, Mississippi, New Jersey and Virginia, and a special Congressional election primary to fill the vacant Congressional seat in (solidly Republican) OH-05. It’s unlikely there will be any surprise in Mississippi, where Haley Barbour is expected to be reelected. But in Kentucky, scandal-tainted GOP incumbent Ernie Fletcher will probably be defeated by Democrat Steve Beshear. And in Virginia, Democrats are expected to gain seats in both chambers of the legislature, possibly even gaining control of one or both chambers.
One of the more interesting mayoral races is in Pittsburgh. Last year mayor Bob O’Connor died unexpectedly, and the mayoralty went to the young president of the city council. Today 26 year old incumbent Democrat Luke Ravenstahl is running for his first full term as mayor. Other cities with mayoral races include Houston, San Francisco and Philadelphia.
There are many local and statewide ballot measures, including a stem cell measure in New Jersey.
What races are you interested in? Who has local perspectives to share? Will the Democrats seize either chamber of the VA legislature? Will Gavin Newsome’s problems dent his winning margin? Do Mississippians really think Haley Barbour did a great job after Katrina? Are any of these races bellwethers? Are they all immune to national trends? Share your knowledge in the thread below.
By the way, in case you were wondering, there are only 363 days left before the presidential election.