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Ohio voters approve amendment enshrining abortion access into state constitution
Ohio voters have approved a constitutional amendment, according to an Associated Press race call, enshrining abortion rights into the state’s constitution in a vote that was opposed by Republicans in the state who argued the measure went even farther than Roe v. Wade.
The election signals a major victory for pro-abortion advocates, including the ACLU, who had pumped tens of millions into the state that Trump carried by 8 points in 2020 arguing that a constitutional amendment was needed to protect abortion access after the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade.
Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights spokesperson Lauren Blauvelt said in an ACLU press release last month that the opponents of Issue 1 were the “extremists” who are “trying to take away our rights and mislead voters.”
5 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT OHIO’S CONTROVERSIAL CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT ON ABORTION BEFORE ELECTION DAY
“Voting NO hands your most personal family decisions over to the GOVERNMENT,” Blauvelt said.
Top Republicans in the state, along with parental rights groups and faith leaders, argued that the measure went “too far” and in many cases even farther than Roe v. Wade did.
“It’s pretty clear that this constitutional amendment just goes farther, much further than what the average Ohioan approves,” Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine told Fox News Digital last month.
“If a voter is comfortable with abortion up until the time of birth, they’re probably going to be okay with this amendment — if they’re comfortable with parents not being involved in the most important decision their daughter will ever make or certainly has made up until that point in her life. If they’re okay with that, then they should vote for this,” DeWine added.
“The ACLU paid out-of-state signature collectors to lie to Ohioans about their dangerous amendment that will strip parents of their rights, permit minors to undergo sex change operations without their parents’ knowledge or consent, and allow painful abortion on demand through all nine months,” PWO spokesperson Amy Natoce said.
Mini Timmaraju, president and CEO of Reproductive Freedom for All, said before the election that Ohio offers a vital proving ground heading into next year’s presidential election, when Democrats hope the abortion issue can energize supporters in contests up and down the ballot. Abortion-related initiatives could be on the ballot across the country, including in the presidential swing states of Arizona, Nevada and Pennsylvania.
“When we’re able to see how our messaging impacts independents and Republicans and persuades them that this fundamental freedom is important to protect in Ohio, that’s going to be something that we can implement looking at 2024,” she said.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
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White House Gloats over Republican Daniel Cameron’s Failed Gubernatorial Bid in Kentucky
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Democrat Andy Beshear wins governor race in deep-red Kentucky, a major blow to Republican hopes ahead of 2024
Democrats maintained their hold on deep-red Kentucky’s governor seat Tuesday in a blow to Republicans ahead of the 2024 elections.
The Associated Press called the race for incumbent Democrat Gov. Andy Beshear over Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron, who had been gaining in the polls in recent days after largely trailing by double-digits since the party primaries in May.
Beshear will continue as one of the last remaining Democrat governors of a deep-red state where Republican voters outnumber Democrat voters, and conservative roots run deep. Kansas Gov. Laura Kelley and Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards are the only other two Democrat governors of Republican-leaning states.
REPUBLICANS AIM FOR TRIFECTA OF VICTORIES IN CRUCIAL GOVERNOR RACES AHEAD OF 2024 ELECTIONS
Beshear’s victory was likely boosted by his positive approval rating as Kentucky’s governor. Even as a Democrat in a conservative state, Beshear has consistently been rated as one of the most popular governors in the country.
Despite Beshear’s popularity, Kentucky Republicans had hoped to build off the party’s momentum after it flipped the Louisiana governor’s mansion red last month with the victory of Attorney General Jeff Landry over his Democrat opponent, who was endorsed by a term-limited Bel Edwards.
The Democrat victory also comes as a blow to former President Donald Trump, who endorsed Cameron early in the race before the party primaries, and reiterated that endorsement in the weeks leading up to the election.
KARI LAKE BUILDS MOMENTUM WITH MORE BIG-NAME BACKING IN RACE TO FLIP ARIZONA SENATE SEAT
Trump’s endorsement boosted Cameron over a crowded Republican primary field that included former U.N. Ambassador Kelly Craft and Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles. Following Beshear’s victory, a number of local and national sources within Republican politics told Fox News Digital that Craft would have been the more “formidable” opponent to face the Democrat, but Trump’s endorsement of Cameron secured his primary win.
Views of Beshear as a potential national Democrat party figure who can attract support from liberals, moderates and conservatives alike will likely grow following his re-election.
The win by Democrats also puts a damper on what would have been even greater momentum for Republicans heading into the 2024 elections where a number of expected tight races in multiple states across the country could determine the balance of power in Washington, D.C.
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Democrat Andy Beshear Wins Second Term as Kentucky Governor
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Ohio voters approve amendment enshrining abortion access into state consitution
Ohio voters have approved a constitutional amendment, according to an Associated Press race call, enshrining abortion rights into the state’s constitution in a vote that was opposed by Republicans in the state who argued the measure went even farther than Roe v. Wade.
The election signals a major victory for pro-abortion advocates, including the ACLU, who had pumped tens of millions into the state that Trump carried by 8 points in 2020 arguing that a constitutional amendment was needed to protect abortion access after the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade.
Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights spokesperson Lauren Blauvelt said in an ACLU press release last month that the opponents of Issue 1 were the “extremists” who are “trying to take away our rights and mislead voters.”
5 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT OHIO’S CONTROVERSIAL CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT ON ABORTION BEFORE ELECTION DAY
“Voting NO hands your most personal family decisions over to the GOVERNMENT,” Blauvelt said.
Top Republicans in the state, along with parental rights groups and faith leaders, argued that the measure went “too far” and in many cases even farther than Roe v. Wade did.
“It’s pretty clear that this constitutional amendment just goes farther, much further than what the average Ohioan approves,” Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine told Fox News Digital last month.
“If a voter is comfortable with abortion up until the time of birth, they’re probably going to be okay with this amendment — if they’re comfortable with parents not being involved in the most important decision their daughter will ever make or certainly has made up until that point in her life. If they’re okay with that, then they should vote for this,” DeWine added.
“The ACLU paid out-of-state signature collectors to lie to Ohioans about their dangerous amendment that will strip parents of their rights, permit minors to undergo sex change operations without their parents’ knowledge or consent, and allow painful abortion on demand through all nine months,” PWO spokesperson Amy Natoce said.
Mini Timmaraju, president and CEO of Reproductive Freedom for All, said before the election that Ohio offers a vital proving ground heading into next year’s presidential election, when Democrats hope the abortion issue can energize supporters in contests up and down the ballot. Abortion-related initiatives could be on the ballot across the country, including in the presidential swing states of Arizona, Nevada and Pennsylvania.
“When we’re able to see how our messaging impacts independents and Republicans and persuades them that this fundamental freedom is important to protect in Ohio, that’s going to be something that we can implement looking at 2024,” she said.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Wisconsin GOP leader downplays pressure to impeach nonpartisan elections czar
Wisconsin’s Republican Assembly leader on Tuesday downplayed pressure he’s receiving from former President Donald Trump and fellow GOP lawmakers to impeach the state’s nonpartisan elections administrator, saying such a vote is “unlikely” to happen.
Some Republicans have been trying to oust state elections administrator Meagan Wolfe, who was in her position during the 2020 election narrowly lost by Trump in Wisconsin. The Senate voted last month to fire Wolfe but later admitted the vote was symbolic and had no legal effect.
Five Assembly Republicans in September introduced 15 articles of impeachment targeting Wolfe, a move that could result in her removal from office if the Assembly passed it and the Senate voted to convict. The Republican president of the Senate has also called on Assembly Speaker Robin Vos to proceed with impeachment.
WISCONSIN REPUBLICANS MOVE TO IMPEACH STATE ELECTIONS CZAR
A group led by election conspiracy theorists launched a six-figure television advertising campaign last month threatening to unseat Vos if he did not proceed with impeachment. On Monday night, Trump posted a news release on his social media platform Truth Social from one of GOP lawmaker’s who sponsored the impeachment. The release from state Rep. Janel Brandtjen criticized Vos for not doing more to remove Wolfe.
Vos on Tuesday said Republicans were “nowhere near a consensus” and no vote on impeachment was imminent.
“I can’t predict what’s going to happen in the future, but I think it is unlikely that it’s going to come up any time soon,” Vos said.
Vos has previously said he supports removing Wolfe, but he wanted to first see how a lawsuit filed on her behalf to keep her in the job plays out.
The Assembly can only vote to impeach state officials for corrupt conduct in office or for committing a crime or misdemeanor. If a majority of the Assembly were to vote to impeach, the case would move to a Senate trial in which a two-thirds vote would be required for conviction. Republicans won a two-thirds supermajority in the Senate in April.
WISCONSIN SENATE APPROVES 3 NEW CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS IN ELECTION SECURITY PUSH
Wolfe did not immediately return a message seeking comment Tuesday. In September, Wolfe accused Republican lawmakers who introduced the impeachment resolution of trying to “willfully distort the truth.”
Vos called for moving on from the 2020 election.
“We need to move forward and talk about the issues that matter to most Wisconsinites and that is not, for most Wisconsinites, obsessing about Meagan Wolfe,” Vos said.
The fight over who will oversee elections in the presidential battleground state has caused instability ahead of the 2024 presidential race for Wisconsin’s more than 1,800 local clerks who actually run elections. The issues Republicans have taken with Wolfe are centered around how she administered the 2020 presidential election and many are based in lies spread by Trump and his supporters.
President Joe Biden defeated Trump in 2020 by nearly 21,000 votes in Wisconsin, an outcome that has withstood two partial recounts, a nonpartisan audit, a conservative law firm’s review and multiple state and federal lawsuits.
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Tuesday’s elections will be ‘fascinating test’ of whether Biden’s sinking popularity ‘depressed’ Dem vote
Former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich told Fox News Channel’s Laura Ingraham on Tuesday that the night’s elections will be a test of whether President Biden’s low approval numbers have depressed the Democratic vote.
“This is a fascinating test, first of all because Gov. Youngkin has done a great job, he’s at about 57% approval, so he’s bringing a lot to the table, and he has raised a fair amount of money,” Gingrich said. “The Democrats understand if they lose badly tonight in Virginia that’s a terrible omen for 2024 and will increase the demand that Biden quit running for reelection.”
Gingrich added that “there’s a lot at stake here” and that the Virginia election will also be a “good test” as to whether a “problem-solving” governor like Youngkin can go into the Washington D.C. suburbs and win over federal employees in blue areas.
“The truth is, I don’t care what the polls tell you, I want to see what the American people, who cared enough to go vote,” Gingrich said.
Gingrich said he thinks that voters in Kentucky, New Jersey, Mississippi, some local races in New York will be revealing whether “Biden has depressed the Democrats and whether the issues have aroused both Republicans and Independents.”
Voters in Virginia will be voting for Republicans or Democrats to control the state legislature, as every one of the 140 seats are up for grabs.
In Ohio, voters will be deciding whether to enshrine abortion access into the state constitution, in what many believe will signal how the abortion issue will be framed in a post-Roe v. Wade landscape.
Key governor races are also taking place in Kentucky and Mississippi, along with other elections taking place in 31 states across the country.
Tuesday’s election comes as several polls have shown President Biden’s approval rating tanking, and a recent New York Times poll shows former President Trump beating Biden in 5 key battleground states.
An overwhelming 71% of respondents told NYT that Biden is “too old” to serve as an effective president.
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Senator proposes plan that lifts nuclear moratorium and requires new oversight rules
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — A Republican Illinois senator proposed fresh legislation Tuesday lifting a moratorium on new nuclear reactors and calls for new rules governing them, one of the concerns raised in a gubernatorial veto of a previous version of the legislation.
Sen. Sue Rezin, of Morris, won overwhelming legislative support last spring to end the 1987 prohibition on new nuclear operations in favor of small modular reactors. Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker sided with environmentalists and, citing concerns about outdated regulations and the long-running problem of waste disposal, vetoed it.
RUSSIA IS CLOSELY MONITORING US NUCLEAR TEST IN NEVADA, PUTIN’S SPOKESPERSON SAYS
Instead of seeking a vote to override the veto during this week’s final three days of legislative session for the year, Rezin floated the new plan which would reduce the allowable size of small modular reactors and produce modernized rules to handle them.
The reactors are designed not to produce electricity to be widespread across the power grid, but to provide electricity to a single site where it’s installed, such as a large factory. Rezin acknowledged they still must undergo the federal permitting process lasting as long as eight years that traditional plants must undergo.
“All we’re trying to do is lift the moratorium to say that Illinois is in fact looking at this new advanced nuclear technology as part of its future energy portfolio,” Rezin said.
Pritzker signed a law two years ago requiring Illinois to produce nothing but carbon-free power by 2045. It provides for heavy investment in wind and solar power but also tosses in $700 million to keep two of the state’s nuclear fleet open in Byron and Morris.
To Rezin, that’s proof that nuclear must be included in the carbon-free future. Environmentalists disagree and persuaded Pritzker’s veto.
To answer the governor’s concerns, the latest plant instructs the Illinois Emergency Management Agency to develop guidelines on decommissioning reactors, environmental monitoring and emergency preparedness by Jan. 1, 2026.
It also reduces the allowable maximum size of each small modular reactor to 300 megawatts, down from 345.
The Senate Executive Committee heard Rezin’s measure Tuesday afternoon but did not take a vote. Mark Denzler, president and CEO of the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association, testified in favor of the measure, explaining that manufacturers use one-third of all the nation’s energy and need reliable sources to keep the lights on.
Many plants, particularly corn and soybean processors, use steam power, Denzler said.
“You can’t generate steam from wind or solar,” he said.
Environmental advocates did not appear before the committee. Jack Darin, director of the Illinois chapter of the Sierra Club, called the debate “largely rhetorical” because construction of a reactor could be a decade or more away. He said lifting the moratorium before conducting studies to develop new rules is backward.
“Those are the studies we should be doing before lifting a moratorium,” Darin said. “So we’re saying, ‘Go ahead and build them, if anybody wants to’ — and nobody does right now — ‘and we’ll start thinking about different ways these could be problematic.'”
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House approves bill slashing Pete Buttigieg’s salary to $1
The House approved a measure late Tuesday that would slash Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s taxpayer-funded government salary to just $1.
The bill — which was introduced by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga. — was passed via voice vote Tuesday as an amendment to the 2024 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, the standalone funding bill for the General Services Administration, Securities and Exchange Commission and other related agencies.
“I’m proud to announce my amendment to FIRE Pete Buttigieg just PASSED the House. Pothole Pete staged fake bike rides to the White House and used private planes funded by taxpayers to receive awards for the way certain people have sex,” Greene said in a social media post Tuesday. “American taxpayers should not be on the hook for paying for his lavish trips or his salary.”
“Pete Buttigieg doesn’t do his job. It’s all about fake photo ops and taxpayer-funded private jet trip to accept LGBTQ awards for him,” Greene added. “I’m happy my amendment passed, but he doesn’t deserve a single penny.”
PETE BUTTIGIEG BROUGHT HUSBAND CHASTEN ON MILITARY AIRCRAFT TO ATTEND SPORTING EVENT IN NETHERLANDS
Since taking office in 2021, Buttigieg has faced criticism for Republican lawmakers in response to several crises that have faced the Department of Transportation.
For example, in February, after a train carrying vinyl chloride, a dangerous colorless gas, derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, Buttigieg was criticized for his apparent inaction and for waiting several weeks before traveling to the site of the derailment.
In addition, there have been multiple instances of mass commercial airline cancelations during his tenure for various reasons including a pilot shortage. Republicans and Democrats alike had called for Buttigieg to take decisive action to ensure air travelers are protected from such cancelations.
And while Buttigieg has spent much of his tenure addressing commercial delays, he has used government-managed private jets on at least 18 occasions since taking office. Those flights sparked an ongoing inspector general probe and, according to information obtained by Americans for Public Trust (APT), have cost taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars.
In one instance in September 2022, Buttigieg used a government jet for a roundtrip journey to Montreal. During the visit, he attended a ceremony during hosted by a large Canadian gay rights organization where he received a prestigious award for his “contributions to the advancement of LGBTQ rights.”
Buttigieg’s office has further stonewalled additional information about his use of the executive fleet.
“Secretary Buttigieg continues to blow off the American people who simply want to know the true cost of his taxpayer-funded private jet trips,” APT Executive Director Caitlin Sutherland told Fox News Digital on Tuesday. “After multiple FOIA requests, a lawsuit, and an ongoing inspector general investigation, Buttigieg’s office still refuses to provide vital details about using a private government jet for a swing state tour, which appears more akin to campaigning than official DOT business.”
“Buttigieg looks to be politicizing his role and making it clear that he believes he’s above accountability and transparency, a dismissive attitude that seems to be endemic throughout the Biden administration,” Sutherland said.
And the transportation secretary came under fire last year after it was revealed he vacationed in Porto, Portugal, while his agency and the White House were locked in tense negotiations with rail worker unions to avert a strike that could have had a dire impact on the U.S. economy. The Department of Transportation said at the time that the vacation was a “long-planned personal trip.”
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