US off-year elections key takeaways: Abortion, marijuana and a blow for Youngkin

One year out from the 2024 presidential election, voters across America headed to the polls for dozens of local elections.

Many of the ballots hinted at key priorities for Americans going into the election year, with voters overwhemingly fighting to protect abortion rights in key battleground states of Ohio and Virginia.

The night also secured some key wins for Democrats with Virginina Republicans – and rumoured presdiential hopeful Glenn Youngkin – suffering major defeats in the state.

Over in Kentucky, Democratic Governor Andy Beshear easily held onto the governor’s mansion in the historically red state.

Marijuana also hit the ballot while some famous namesakes learned their fates.

Here are the main takeaways from the elections:

Ohio protects abortion rights

Voters in Ohio chose overwhelmingly to enshrine the right to abortion on Tuesday night.

On the ballot was the vote to enshrine the right to reproductive freedom, including protections for the practice of abortion, into the state constitution.

Becoming the seventh atte where voters have decided to protect abortion access after Roe v Wade was overturned last year, it marks the latest victory for abortion rights supporters.

It’s also a rebuke of Republicans in the state, who rallied behind a particularly restrictive law banning abortions after six weeks into the mother’s pregnancy.

Ohio legalises marijuana for recreational use

As well as enshrining abortion rights, Ohio voters also voted to legalise recreational marijuana in the state.

Medical marijuana was already legal in the state but issue 2 involved a proposal to allow people aged 21 and over to legally use, grow or sell marijuana under a regulation-and-tax programme.

It will now go into effect in 30 days.

This makes Ohio the 24th state to legalise marijuana for recreational use.

Blow for Youngkin with Democrat wins in Virginia

It was a disappointing night for Virginia Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin as Democrats swept the board in local elections.

Republicans not only failed to reclaim control of the state Senate. The party also lost control of the state House to Democrats.

The outcome marks a devastating blow to Mr Youngkin who was widely rumoured to be mulling a late entry into the crowded Republican presidential race – potentially wiping out his ambitions for 2024.

It also put a swift end to his anti-abortion policies, after he pushed his plan for a 15-week abortion ban – something he tried to market as “reasonable” abortion restrictions

Democrats were predicted to win at least 51 seats, though the exact number remained up in the air just after 11pm est.

Democrat win in Kentucky

Democrats scored a key win in Kentucky – a state long considered a Republican stronghold – as Andy Beshear easily held onto the governor’s mansion.

Mr Beshear campaigned on his opponent’s support for abortion restrictions as well as on his own record as governor.

The Democrat has enjoyed a healthy state economy boosted by private investments under his term in office, which also saw him earn credit for his response to several natural disasters in the state.

He was leading his opponent, Daniel Cameron, by four percentage points with more than three quarters of the vote counted when the race was called just before 9pm est.

Elvis Presley’s cousin loses Mississippi governor race

In what was a long-shot bid, Elvis Presley’s second cousin lost out in the Mississippi gubernatorial race.

Incumbent Republican Governor Tate Reeves may have been falling out of favour with his state but it wasn’t enough for voters to turn the state blue.

Brandon Presley, a 46-year-old white Democrat, had sought to build alliances with Mississippi’s sizeable Black population but ultimately failed to do so in numbers that would have made him competitive in a state where white voters largely vote conservative.

Mr Presley ran a typical Blue Dog Democrat campaign, and his defeat on Tuesday could possibly be blamed on an inability to excite his own base. Unlike other Democrats around the country, including other red states such as Kentucky, the Mississippian had campaigned in support of his state’s sweeping abortion ban; the decision won him early sceptics among some political experts in the state.

Uvalde mother loses mayoral race

The mother of a 10-year-old girl murdered in the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, lost her bid to become the next mayor of the city.

Kimberly Mata-Rubio, whose daughter Lexi was killed in the May 2022 attack that claimed the lives of 21 children and two teachers, ran on a campaign to enact tougher gun laws.

However, former Mayor Cody Smith sailed to victory – after he served two terms as mayor over a decade ago.

Ms Mata-Rubio posted on X that she would not stop fighting for her daughter.

“I’ll never stop fighting for you, Lexi,” she wrote.

“I meant it when I said this was only the beginning. After all, I’m not a regular mom. I’m Lexi’s mom.”

Rhode Island elects first Black congressman

Former White House aide Gabe Amo sailed to victory in the special election for Rhode Island’s 1st Congressional District, according to The Associated Press.

The win for the Democrat makes him the first Black congressman ever elected in the state.

Mr Amo was the firm favourite in the race to fill the remainder of Rep David Cicilline’s term, going up against Republican candidate Gerry Leonard.

Mr Cicilline held the seat since 2011, before announcing his resignation back in February.

Scalia’s daughter loses Virginia school board race

The daughter of late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia lost out in a school board election in Virginia – a race that is emblematic of the battles being waged across American schools.

Meg Bryce was running for the board seat in Albermarle County, but scored just 40 per cent of votes compared to Allison Spillman’s 60 per cent, district data shows.

Ms Bryce had previously spoken out about how her father’s legacy was both “a blessing and a curse” to her own ambitions.

“I think that it’s very easy for people to dismiss me as partisan because of my maiden name,” she told CBS19.

Member of Central Park Five wins New York council seat

Yusef Salaam – a member of the wrongfully convicted Central Park Five who Donald Trump called to be executed – won a seat on the New York City Council on Tuesday.

Mr Salaam, a Democrat, ran unopposed for the central Harlem district seat on the City Council, claiming a landslide victory.

“For me, this means that we can really become our ancestors’ wildest dreams,” he said prior to the election.

Mr Salaam was one of five Black teens who spent years behind bars after being wrongly convicted of the rape and assault of a white jogger in Central Park.

Their convictions were overturned 12 years later and they are now known as the Exonerated Five.