Election 2023 shows that defenders of democracy 'shouldn't despair': ex-federal prosecutor

With New York Times/Siena and CNN polls showing former President Donald Trump ahead of President Joe Biden in a hypothetical rematch in 2024, Democrats were praying for some hopeful signs on Election Night 2023. And a lot of the news was good for Democrats, who flipped the GOP-controlled Virginia House of Delegates while maintaining their Virginia Senate majority.

In Pennsylvania, Democrat Daniel McCaffery defeated Republican Carolyn Carluccio in a state supreme court race. McCaffery hammered Carluccio relentlessly as anti-abortion, and his victory gives Democrats a 5-2 majority on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Meanwhile, in deep red Kentucky, centrist Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear was reelected.

Former federal prosecutor Dennis Aftergut, in an article published by the conservative website The Bulwark on November 8, describes the 2023 election results as full of hopeful signs for defenders of democracy. Aftergut zeros in on three states: Kentucky, Virginia and Ohio, where voters approved, by double digits, a ballot measure to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution.

"For those who worry about the future of our democracy and the rule of law," Aftergut argues, "Tuesday's off-year elections in three states should steady the nerves — all the more so because of the larger context. In the dozens of special elections held across the country earlier this year, Democrats on average performed 10 percent better than you would expect given the partisan lean where the voting took place…. While there were some victories for Republicans on Tuesday — most notably, the reelection of Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves — the overall picture is not pretty for the GOP."

Aftergut adds, "Democrats' strong showings in three states demonstrate that they continue to outperform expectations, and that voters continue to come out in support (of) abortion rights."

Abortion, Aftergut emphasizes, was a major issue for Democrats in the 2023 election and worked well for them in Ohio, Kentucky and Virginia.

"First, It's even clearer now that abortion remains a powerful electoral driver," Aftergut argues. "Second, while the polls for 2024 cannot help but worry us —as they show growing support for Donald Trump despite his telling us he will destroy American constitutionalism, and continuing concerns about Joe Biden despite his administration’s successes — Tuesday's results remind us that we shouldn't despair."

READ MORE: Ohio enshrines abortion rights in state constitution: report

Dennis Aftergut's full article for The Bulwark is available at this link.