US midterm elections: Three states pass initiatives protecting abortion rights

The top Republican in the US House of Representatives expressed confidence that his party will seize the lower chamber of Congress from President Joe Biden’s Democrats after Tuesday’s midterm elections.

“It is clear that we are going to take the House back,” Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said early Wednesday as results showed Republicans were poised to flip the seats necessary to win control, albeit most likely with a smaller majority than experts had forecast.

Voters in five states considered abortion-related ballot measures on Tuesday, initiatives that have taken on new urgency since the U.S. Supreme Court in June overturned the Roe v. Wade decision that had legalized abortion nationwide.

Michigan

Voters in the battleground state of Michigan backed a ballot initiative declaring abortion as a right protected by the state’s constitution.

Reproductive rights groups have said such protections would ensure future abortion access in the state, whichhashada Republican-controlled legislatureanda Democratic governor.

Conservative Republicans in the state had sought to allow a 1931 abortion ban to be enforced once Roe v. Wade was overturned. But a judge ruled on Sept. 7 that the ban, which made no exceptions for rape or incest, violated the state’s constitution and could not be enforced.

California

Voters in California, the most populous U.S. state, passed a proposal to enshrine the right to an abortion in its constitution by a wide margin.

The ballot initiative capped a years-long effort by reproductive rights advocates in the left-leaning state to protect abortion rights, including recent funding from the legislature to help people who live in states where the procedure has been limited or banned seek care in California.

Vermont

Voters decided to include abortion rights in Vermont’s state constitution.

As required by state law, the ballot measure had already been approved twice by the Democratic-controlled legislature.

The measure was the culmination of actions to shore up abortion rights, including a new state reproductive rights law, that began in 2019 after former President Donald Trump’s appointment in the two prior years of Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court cemented its conservative majority.

Kentucky

A measure in conservative Kentucky would establish that the state constitution does not protect or recognize a right to an abortion.

With 95% ofprecincts reporting, the “no” votes were slightly ahead of those who supported the measure.

Montana

In Montana, voters were asked about a so-called “born alive” law, which would require medical care to be provided to infants born alive after a failed abortion.

Based on the belief among some anti-abortion activists that babies have been left to die after abortion, labor or “extraction,” such as a cesarean section, the measure affirms that all infants born alive are considered legal persons in the state.

Doctors who fail to care for such living infants would be fined up to $50,000 and face imprisonment of up to 20 years. The limited data on these types of incidents suggests they are rare and likely to involve fetuses with severe conditions that make them unlikely to survive.

Other conservative states have enacted similar legislation in recent years. Results were not yet in for this race.

People attend Republican candidate for Governor of Pennsylvania Doug Mastriano’s 2022 U.S. midterm election night party, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, November 8, 2022. Photo by Reuters/Mike Segar

President Joe Biden’s party picked up a first seat in the upper chamber of Congress on Tuesday as Democrat John Fetterman defeated celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania, AFP cited media projections.

Fetterman, the state’s lieutenant governor who is recovering from a stroke, will take over the post vacated by retiring Republican Pat Toomey — making good on Democrats’ hope to flip the seat and better their chances to retain Senate control.

Republicans have picked up a net three seats in the U.S. House of Representatives that had previously been held by Democrats with 88 of 435 races not yet called, Edison Research projected.

For House races, Edison Research is tracking the net number of seats that flip from one party to another, as opposed to the net gain or loss of overall seats by either party.

The number of flips does not take into account seven new seats created during congressional redistricting and two races in which an incumbent Democrat and an incumbent Republican are facing each other due to redistricting.

So far, Republicans have won 185 seats in the 435-seat House and Democrats have won 162 seats, Edison projected.

Edison projected that there had been no net gain or loss in Senate seats for either party with 27 of 35 races called.

Republicans would need to pick up one Senate seat to capture control of the chamber.

Democrat Josh Shapiro won the Pennsylvania governorship, Edison Research projected, defeating a Republican who repeated false claims of voting fraud in a presidential battleground state where the governor appoints the official who oversees elections.

Josh Shapiro, the state’s attorney general, beat Republican state Senator Doug Mastriano, who has echoed former President Donald Trump’s false claims about voting fraud and was present at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 – the day of a deadly riot – to protest the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Alex Erby fills out his ballot while voting at a polling station inside the Grace Bible Fellowship Church during the 2022 U.S. midterm election in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, U.S., November 8, 2022. Photo by Reuters/Mike Segar

It was one of 36 state governor’s races held in the U.S. midterm elections on Tuesday, with the future of abortion rights and election oversight at stake in competitive contests around the country.

The high stakes brought increased money and attention to the state-level races, which often get overshadowed in midterm elections by the fight for control of Congress.

The Democratic Party picked up governorships in Massachusetts and Maryland with history-making candidates, while Republican incumbents cruised to victories in marquee races in Florida and Texas, Edison Research projected.

Republicans have picked up a net six seats in the U.S. House of Representatives that had previously been held by Democrats with 161 of 435 races not yet called, Edison Research projected on Tuesday.

For House races, Edison Research is tracking the net number of seats that flip from one party to another, as opposed to the net gain or loss of overall seats by either party.

The number of flips does not take into account seven new seats created during congressional redistricting and two races in which an incumbent Democrat and an incumbent Republican are facing each other due to redistricting.

So far, Republicans have won 169 seats in the 435-seat House and Democrats have won 105 seats, Edison projected.

Edison projected that there had been no net gain or loss in Senate seats for either party with 23 of 35 races called.

Republicans would need to pick up one Senate seat to capture control of the chamber.

U.S. Senate Republican candidate J.D. Vance, who was endorsed by former U.S. President Donald Trump for the upcoming primary elections, applauds during an event hosted by Trump, at the county fairgrounds in Delaware, Ohio, U.S., April 23, 2022. Photo by Reuters/Gaelen Morse

Control of the U.S. Senate is at stake in the Nov. 8 midterm elections, as Republicans need to pick up only one seat to win control of the 100-seat chamber, which would allow them to block much of President Joe Biden’s agenda.

The chamber is currently split 50-50 between Republicans and Democrats, who maintain control thanks to Vice President Kamala Harris’ tie-breaking vote. Democrats hope to expand their margin.

Republicans have picked up a net five seats in the U.S. House of Representatives that had previously been held by Democrats with 185 of 435 races not yet called, Edison Research projected on Tuesday.

For House races, Edison Research is tracking the net number of seats that flip from one party to another, as opposed to the net gain or loss of overall seats by either party.

People attend a rally held by former U.S. President Donald Trump to support Republican candidates ahead of midterm elections, in Dayton, Ohio, November 7, 2022. Photo by Reuters

The number of flips does not take into account seven new seats created during congressional redistricting and two races in which an incumbent Democrat and an incumbent Republican are facing each other due to redistricting.

So far, Republicans have won 157 seats in the 435-seat House and Democrats have won 93 seats.

Maura Healey. Photo by AFP/Joseph Prezioso

The US state of Massachusetts on Tuesday elected Democrat Maura Healey as America’s first openly lesbian governor, AFP cited TV networks.

Healey, 51, flipped the seat from the Republicans, comfortably defeating opponent Geoff Diehl, according to projections by NBC, Fox News and CNN.

She told cheering supporters at her election night party in Boston that she was “proud” of her historic victory.

“To every little girl and every LGBTQ person out there, you can be anything you want to be,” Healey said.