Political Races Black People Can't and Shouldn't Ignore
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
JANUARY 16: Mayor of Houston Sylvester Turner taking a selfie during the 45th Annual MLK Downtown Parade on January 16, 2023 in Houston, Texas.
Over the days, weeks, and months to come, you’re going to hear a lot from folks like me talking about the Presidential and congressional elections coming down the pipe in 2024 and, with the House, the Senate and the White House up for grabs, it’s easy to see why.
But just like a good athlete plays the game in front of him instead of being distracted by the other opponents deeper in the schedule, we also must recognize that the elections coming up this year are far too important to miss.
Read more
Yet Democrats have remained competitive in Kentucky’s Governor’s office with eight of the last 10 Governors being Democrats. On top of that, Beshear defeated incumbent Governor Matt Bevin by just over 5,000 votes in 2019 making that election Kentucky’s closest since 1899.
Beshear has his hands full this year in preventing the GOP trifecta, however, as Trump won Kentucky by more than 25 points in 2020 making this race a key test for Democrats and potential bellwether on Trump’s post-indictment popularity.
Virginia State Legislature
Both houses of the state legislatures have elections in four states this November with Mississippi, New Jersey and Virginia taking place on November 7 and Louisiana taking place on November 18. But, just like it was in 2021, all eyes are going to be on Virginia.
Every seat in Virginia’s legislature is up this November and, with Republicans holding a 52-48 majority in the House of Delegates and Democrats controlling the Senate 21-19, the stage is definitely set. But the biggest question is whether dog whistle model Governor Glenn Youngkinrode to victory in 2021 will still prove effective two years later or whether Virginia’s voters are sick of the MAGA antics they see both in Richmond and Washington D.C.
Voters and pundits alike will look to the Virginia elections for a snapshot of the landscape going into the 2024 election season and that attention will echo across the nation.
Mayors and City Councils
It’s hard to believe, but the truth is that 83 percent of all Americans live in urban areas. In fact, the Metropolitan Statistical Areas(MSA) that contain our nation’s four largest cities (New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston) are home to nearly 50 million Americans and generate more than $5.4 trillion in annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
That’s not only roughly a quarter of US GDP, it’s the third largest economy in the world. In other words, if those four cities were a nation, their economy would be larger than every nation on the planet except the United States and China.
Our mayors and city councils will tell you that local government is where the rubber meets the road and a lot of those local elections are taking place across America are taking place this year.
In Houston, voters will replace term-limited Democrat Mayor Sylvester Turner whose Complete Communities initiative has led to historic investments in the city’s most neglected communities and whose campaign to end homelessness has become a national model and, in Philadelphia, voters seem set to make history and elect former councilwoman Cherelle Parker as the city’s first woman mayor.
In North Carolina, Mayor Vi Lyles is on track to win reelection as Mayor of Charlotte and, in South Carolina, Mayor John Tecklenburg five opponents including decorated veteran and longtime aide to Assistant House Democratic Leader Rep. Jim Clyburn Clay Middleton.
We’ve got city council elections in New York, a mayor’s race in Indianapolis and more across the country. So, if you care about job creation, public safety, infrastructure, climate change, criminal justice reform or a host of other prime-time issues that will dominate the public debate for years to come, then you should care very much about local municipal elections in 2023.
Ohio Reproductive Justice
Voters in five states will decide on 28 ballot measures on November 7, but the big question is whether history will repeat itself in Ohio. If you want a refresher, just look to August 8 when nearly two million Ohio voter pushed back a GOP power grab trying to prevent Ohioans from enshrining the right to reproductive freedom in the state constitution.
But August was just the undercard. November 7th will be the main event. That’s when voters in the Buckeye State not only get the opportunity to tell MAGA Republicans that no politician has the right to stand between a woman and her doctor, but also to broadcast a successful model for action and activism to be replicated across the nation.
Remember, Ohio has a Republican governor with GOP supermajorities in both houses of the state legislature. Trump won the state 53% to 45% in 2020 and 51% to 43% in 2016. So driving a successful pro-choice referendum in that environment isn’t just interesting. It’s remarkable and, if successful, draws a clear roadmap not only to protect reproductive freedoms across America, but to beat MAGA Republicans on their home turf.
Planning to Win
This is what is right in front of us. There will certainly be distractions to steal our focus. The races here are winnable despite opposition. But there is no victory without a plan. We must plan to win the battles right in front of us and keep listening for the signal from the noise.
Antjuan Seawright (@antjuansea) is a Democratic political strategist, founder and CEO of Blueprint Strategy LLC, a CBS News political contributor, and a senior visiting fellow at Third Way.
More from The Root
Your Guide to October’s Much-Anticipated ‘Ring of Fire’ Solar Eclipse
Returned Asteroid Sample Canister Contains Way More Asteroid Than Expected
Sign up for The Root's Newsletter. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
