It’s Tuesday, the traditional day for elections and for our pause-and-consider newsletter on politics and policy.

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It’s Tuesday, the traditional day for elections and for our pause-and-consider newsletter on politics and policy. We think of it as a mini-magazine in your inbox.

ELECTION DAY!
By Lisa Desjardins, @LisaDNews ([link removed])
Correspondent

Let’s hit the go button, America. It’s Election Day 2023.

Like the third child in a family with four, this year’s elections suffer from a dearth of attention that comes from that position. At this point in the four-year election cycle, there is no presidential election, no regular congressional races and just a few gubernatorial elections.

But we reject the Jan-Brady-middle-election-neglect ([link removed]) and eagerly embrace an election without national ads. Every election tells us something.

Read below to see why we are fascinated by today’s races.

Two major governor races

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Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Mississippi governor

Democrats believe they have a shot at the governor’s mansion in this bright red state. Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley ([link removed]) , who is socially conservative ([link removed]) , pledges to expand Medicaid, has nativeauthor John Grisham ([link removed]) in his corner and is, also, a cousin of Elvis Presley ([link removed]) . Incumbent Republican Gov. Tate Reeves ([link removed]) has stumbled in fundraising ([link removed]) and popularity recently. There’s a multimillion dollar welfare scandal ([link removed]) that has followed the governor, something Reeves has denied and Presley has featured in
his campaign ads. Reeves has denied any wrongdoing, and he is still the GOP candidate in a GOP state. Heads up: It may not be decided by tonight ([link removed]) and could go to a Nov. 28 runoff.

Kentucky governor

Another test of Democrats in red states. The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter ([link removed]) gives incumbent Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear the advantage over Republican challenger and state Attorney General Daniel Cameron, but notes that the endorsement of former President Donald Trump in the race could motivate the GOP base. If Cameron is elected, he will be the first Black Republican governor since Reconstruction.

Abortion on the ballot
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Photo by Megan Jelinger/AFP via Getty Images
Ohio votes on abortion in a nationally watched election

Ohioans have a direct test of abortion views, voting on an amendment to the state Constitution that would codify "an individual right to one's own reproductive medical treatment.” That would include decisions involving abortion, contraception, fertility treatment and miscarriage care. The measure, known as Issue 1 ([link removed]) , would in particular allow abortions up to the point at which a fetus is viable outside the womb, as determined by the physician charged with care. This has sparked an intense battle and a number of false claims about the proposed amendment ([link removed]) . If voters approve the measure, it will add to the series of wins for advocates seeking to enshrine abortion rights into state constitutions following the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in summer 2022.

The race for control of the Virginia legislature

Control of both chambers in Richmond is up for grabs, and the battle has become a national test for both parties on abortion. Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s 2021 win provided the GOP with a blueprint on the issue. Now he aims to flip the state’s Democratic senate and gain GOP control of state government. Tidal waves of money ([link removed]) have been raised and spent in the state, with dueling ads on which party is out of step on abortion.

An open seat on Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court

The Keystone State will vote on an open seat on its Supreme Court ([link removed]) . This race won’t change the overall tilt of the court, which at the moment is composed of four Democrats and two Republicans. But it could open up the possibility of that happening in a future election. The state’s Supreme Court has long been a key arbiter of abortion limits, and this has become one of the most expensive high court races in state history ([link removed].) .

Also on the ballot

Age. Texans will vote on a proposed state constitutional amendment ([link removed]) to raise the mandatory retirement age of state judges from 75 to 79.

Marijuana. Ohio voters will decide if they want to legalize recreational marijuana ([link removed]) .

The race for mayor of Uvalde, Texas. More than a year after a gunman murdered 19 students and two teachers there, the city of Uvalde, Texas, will choose a new mayor. The three candidates include themother of one of the students killed ([link removed]) , but the massacre and ideas for moving forward remain divisive there.

School boards. Around the country, cultural and education debates will collide in races to fill vacant school board spots. We are especially watching a few in Virginia ([link removed]) , Pennsylvania ([link removed]) and Minnesota ([link removed]) .

The special congressional election in Rhode Island. The state's 1st District ([link removed]) is open thanks to the retirement of David Cicilline. This is a Democrat-leaning district and theirs to lose. The candidates? Democrat Gabe Amo ([link removed]) , a former Obama and Biden White House aide ([link removed]) , who would be the first person of color ([link removed]) from Rhode Island in Congress if he wins, and Republican Gerry Leonard ([link removed]) , who is a moderate and a retired Marine.
More on politics from our coverage:
* Watch: Tamara Keith and Amy Walter on the key races to watch ([link removed]) on Election Day 2023.
* One Big Question: Where is reproductive rights a key issue in this year’s elections? We look at the state races that could alter the landscape for abortion access ([link removed]) .
* A Closer Look: How states are using legislative privilege to drag out redistricting lawsuits ([link removed]) .
* Perspectives: What are the political divides over the Israel-Hamas war? New York Times columnist David Brooks and Washington Post associate editor Jonathan Capehart weigh in ([link removed]) .

WHERE DOES THE 2024 RACE STAND NOW?
By Dan Cooney, @IAmDanCooney ([link removed])
Social Media Producer/Coordinator

We are now less than a year away from Election Day 2024.

At this point in the presidential race, polls and fundraising indicate that incumbent Democratic President Joe Biden and former Republican President Donald Trump are in strong leading positions ([link removed]) .
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Image by Megan McGrew/PBS NewsHour
The first votes of the 2024 election cycle are set to be cast in Iowa on Martin Luther King. Jr. Day, when Republicans in the state hold their party’s presidential nominating caucuses.

But anything can happen in a year’s time ([link removed]) , as Amy Walter, publisher and editor-in-chief of The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter, has noted. And what looks like an inevitable general election match-up between Biden and Trump could change.
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Image by Megan McGrew/PBS NewsHour
To Walter, this election so far is akin to being “on the edge of a pond that you're pretty sure is frozen solid. But you're not 100 percent sure.”

“You could also walk across it and find your foot falling through, where what looks to be pretty solid is actually pretty thin ice,” she said.

A second consecutive Trump and Biden match-up in the general election hasn’t generated a lot of enthusiasm. In a PBS NewsHour/NPR/Marist poll conducted in September ([link removed]) , 39 percent of U.S. adults wanted Trump to be president again, while only 34 percent wanted Biden to be reelected.

#POLITICSTRIVIA
By Ali Schmitz, @SchmitzMedia ([link removed])
Politics Producer

While Mississippi gubernatorial hopeful Brandon Presley's cousin, Elvis, was more interested in music than politics, the legend did famously meet with one president at the White House. Photos of the moment are also one of the most requested images from the U.S. National Archives.

Our question: Which president had an impromptu meeting with “The King of Rock n' Roll”?

Send your answers to [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) or tweet using #PoliticsTrivia. The first correct answers will earn a shoutout next week.

Last week, we asked: Which speaker spent the longest time in office before ascending to the House's highest-ranked position?

The answer: John McCormack ([link removed]) . The Massachusetts lawmaker spent 33 years in the House before he was elected speaker, serving in that role from 1962 to 1971.

Congratulations to our winners: Odies Wright Jr. and Nikolai Konick!

Thank you all for reading and watching. We’ll drop into your inbox next week.
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