The Slatest for Nov. 6: These 2023 Races Could Tell Us a Lot About How Next Year Will Go

Slate Staff
·2 min read
Mississippi Democratic gubernatorial candidate Brandon Presley.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Tomorrow is Election Day, and how several high-stakes races play out could tell us a lot about 2024.

“Can the backlash to Dobbs sustain itself more than a year after the decision was handed down?” David Faris asks. “Will President Joe Biden’s woes cost Democrats a critical state legislative battle? Can red-state Democrats survive in an era of ever-deepening partisan polarization?”

He runs down which of tomorrow’s races might hold the answers.

What could Gaza’s future look like, after the war is over? Writing for our sister publication, Foreign Policy, Amy Mackinnon asked several current and former U.S. and Israeli diplomats and intelligence officials, Palestinian scholars, and regional experts to answer that question.

Plus, in case you missed it: Fred Kaplan wrote last week about how Israel expects the war in Gaza to go, and Vishal Khetpal interviewed a medical student in Gaza about what she’s seeing in hospitals there right now.

The Continental U.S., with vast swaths of people literally disappearing off the map.
Photo illustration/animation by Slate. Photos by Getty Images Plus.

The Golden State got rid of affirmative action in higher education almost 25 years before the Supreme Court did. Now as high school seniors are applying to college en masse for the first time since the court effectively gutted affirmative action nationwide, Shirin Ali looks at the tough lessons California’s experience holds for the rest of us.

As Mitt Romney heads into retirement, is the idea of a moderate Republican being retired as well? What Next spoke to McKay Coppins, author of Romney: A Reckoning, about whether the Utah senator’s departure is a story of integrity or cautionary tale.

First coffee shops, then fast food, now beloved regional stores! Nadira Goffe laments the fact that nowhere is safe from a dreaded design trend.

Recent movie characters, including Oppenheimer, a Na'vi from Avatar, and Ernest Burkhart from Killers of the Flower Moon, in front of a countdown clock, looking pained.
Photo illustration by Slate. Photos by Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures, 20th Century Studios, and Getty Images Plus.

Movies actually aren’t getting longer—so why does it feel like they are? Sam Adams explains what the debate over “long movies” gets wrong.

If you have small children at home and get blank stares whenever you inquire about how their days went, you’re not alone! Maggie Mertens explains why kids might struggle to answer this seemingly basic question—and what to ask instead.

… much like the advice to lie down on your left side if you’re feeling nauseated! Anna Gibbs digs into the reasons there may be something to it.

Thanks so much for reading! We’ll see you tomorrow.