The Truth, nothing that happened in the elections yesterday will have any impact on the 2020 presidential election. There are off-year elections when congress runs for office and the president does not (2018) and there are off-off or way-off year elections like yesterday when a handful of states have mostly obscure offices up for grabs, except for the governor races in Virginia, Kentucky and Mississippi.
In Mississippi the Republican won an open race, meaning no incumbent was running.
Virginia Returns to
Democrat controlled state
When one party
controls the three vital centers of state political power—the office of the
governor, the state House, and the state Senate — it is considered a Democrat
or Republican state. Such control makes
it easier for the dominant party to pursue its agenda, and more difficult for
opposition parties to challenge it.
Virginia currently operates
under divided government.
In Virginia,
Republicans held control of state government from 2000 to 2001 and again from
2012 to 2013. Democrats held control from 1992 to 1993. In all other years,
control of state government was divided.
One of the Virginia Democrats elected yesterday as supervisor for the Algonkian District in Loudoun County, Virginia became famous because she flipped off the President's motorcade in a great showing of respect for the presidency.
GOP loses Kentucky Governor but reasserts
statewide dominance
One of the most unpopular governors in the nation lost
re-election in Kentucky and not even President Trump could save him, although
the actual vote is still too close to call and subject to a possible recount.
While Democrats around the country are celebrating Andy
Beshear’s narrow win Tuesday in the high-profile gubernatorial race in
Kentucky, some analysts are playing down what his victory over Republican
incumbent Matt Bevin could mean for the 2020 election.
There were six statewide elections in Kentucky and while the
governor’s race is still too close to call, the other five races were easily
won by Republicans backed by Mitch McConnell and President Trump.
Cook Political Report analyst Dave Wasserman offered what
he described as a “reality check.” Wasserman tweeted that a
Democratic victory by less than a percentage point against “an unpopular GOP
governor” is not a sign that Kentucky will be “competitive at the federal level
in 2020.” In other words, don’t bet on Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell losing
to Democratic challenger Amy McGrath, or on President Donald Trump
struggling in the state, which he carried by a 30-point margin in 2016.
Other analysts echoed Wasserman’s view on the election
results in Kentucky, where Bevin so far hadn’t conceded. The Republican
incumbent reportedly lost by less than 5,000 votes, as 1.4 million Kentuckians
voted and turnout rose to 41% from 31% four years ago.
Here is the most stunning outcome of the election.
In Tucson Arizona, a very liberal and Democrat controlled town where over one third of the population is Latino, the liberal effort to change Tucso into a Sanctuary City was easily defeated to the astonishment of the progressive and left-leaning backers sho poured out-of-state money into the campaign.
Liberal
Tucson, Arizona rejects plan to be sanctuary city
Associated
Press 7 hours ago
FILE
- In this Monday, June 25, 2012, file photo, a small crowd protests at the
Arizona State Building in Tucson, Ariz., during a rally after the U.S. Supreme
Court’s decision on Arizona SB1070. On Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2019, residents voted
not to designate Tucson a “sanctuary city” with further restrictions on how and
when police officers can enforce immigration laws. The initiative explicitly
aimed to neuter the 2010 Arizona immigration law known as SB1070, which drew
mass protests and a boycott of the state. Courts threw out much of the law but
upheld the requirement for officers to check immigration papers when they
suspect someone is in the country illegally. (David Sanders/Arizona Daily Star
via AP, File)
TUCSON,
Ariz. (AP) — After Arizona passed a law that required local police to check the
immigration status of people suspected to be in the country illegally, the
state's second-largest city wanted to send a message.
The
Democrats who control Tucson designated their town an "immigrant welcoming
city" in 2012, and the police department adopted rules limiting when
officers can ask about the immigration status of people they encounter.
But
on Tuesday, given the chance to push the envelope further, the heavily
Democratic city voted overwhelmingly not to become an official "sanctuary
city" with more restrictions on how and when police officers can enforce
immigration laws.
The
incongruous result followed a contentious disagreement that divided
progressives between those eager to stand up for immigrants and against
President Donald Trump, and those who said the initiative would bring nothing
more than unintended consequences.
"The
city of Tucson, in all respects except being labeled as such, operates as a
sanctuary city," Mayor Jonathan Rothschild said in an interview before the
vote.
The
sanctuary initiative, he argued, would have tied the hands of police even on
matters unrelated to immigration while inviting expensive retaliation from the
Trump administration and Republicans in the state Legislature.
The
Trump administration has fought sanctuary cities and tried to restrict their
access to federal grants. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in June
that the Trump administration could consider cities' willingness to cooperate
in immigration enforcement when doling out law enforcement money.
Tucson
has a deep history welcoming immigrants. It's widely credited as the birthplace
of the Sanctuary Movement in the 1980s, an effort by churches to help refugees
from Central America and shield them form deportation.
The
ballot measure was pushed by activists who wanted to give a voice to Tucson's
Latino community. They said it would have sent the message that immigrants are
safe and protected in Tucson at a time when many are fearful of Trump's
immigration policies.
"We
have been failed by the city government here," Zaira Livier, executive
director of the People's Defense Initiative, which organized the initiative,
told supporters following the vote, according to KOLD-TV.
Tucson
politicians say they stand with immigrants, but when the going gets tough, they
back down, she said.
"We
are here to test you and to tell you that the bare minimum is no longer good
enough and we expect better," Livier said.
The
initiative explicitly aimed to neuter a 2010 Arizona immigration law known as
SB1070, which drew mass protests and a boycott of the state. Courts threw out
much of the law but upheld the requirement for officers to check immigration
papers when they suspect someone is in the country illegally.
A
handful of Republican state lawmakers have said they would pursue legislation
to punish Tucson. Prior legislation approved by the GOP Legislature to tie the
hands of liberal cities, including Tucson, allows the state to cut off funding
for cities that pass laws conflicting with Arizona laws.
Meanwhile,
Tucson voters elected their first Latina mayor. Regina Romero will be the first
woman to lead Arizona's second-largest city after Phoenix, with a population of
about 546,000 people.
Tucson's
last Hispanic mayor was Estevan Ochoa, who was elected in 1875 — nearly four
decades before Arizona became a state and just 21 years after the United States
bought Southern Arizona, including Tucson, from Mexico in the Gadsden Purchase.
Romero,
who is on the city council, opposed the sanctuary city initiative, saying it's
unnecessary given Tucson's welcoming attitude and policies toward immigrants.
"I
am so proud and so humbled for tonight," she said in a victory speech.
Thanking
her family, she added, "No single person can make history on their own."
