25 Reasons Why Election Night Was A Great Night For Progressives

Progressive candidates and issues won BIG around the country last night.

1.

Mississippi voters rejected an amendment to the state constitution that would have defined life as starting at conception, and outlawed abortion and many forms of birth control if passed.

If the amendment 26, or “Personhood,” had passed Tuesday, it would have re-opened the national debate on abortion. Court challenges would have set the measure on a path for the U.S. Supreme Court and a showdown in the far right’s mission to overturn Roe V. Wade.

Source: edition.cnn.com

2.

Pearce becomes the first sitting Senate president in the nation and the first Arizona legislator ever to lose a recall election. He would be required to step down immediately once the results become official.

Russell Pearce was one of the most influential state politicians in the nation and a powerful voice on illegal immigration. He authored Arizona’s controversial SB 1070 immigration law.

Source: azcentral.com

3.

Ohio voters dealt a sharp rebuke to first-year Gov. John Kasich and his conservative agenda Tuesday by overwhelmingly rejecting the restrictive new collective bargaining law he championed.

“It’s clear the people have spoken,” the humbled Republican leader said from the Statehouse. “I heard their voices. I understand their decision. And frankly, I respect what the people have to say in an effort like this. And as a result of that, it requires me to take a deep breath and to spend some time to reflect on what happened here.”

Source: cleveland.com

4.

Democrat Adam Ebbin, a gay man who has served in the Virginia House of Delegates since 2004, won election on Tuesday to the Virginia Senate, becoming the state’s first openly gay senator.

Source: washingtonblade.com

5.

Busting someone age 21 or older for having a small amount of marijuana is to become codifed in Kalamazoo’s charter as the lowest priority for law enforcement.

A ballot measure to amend the city charter passed resoundingly Tuesday, with 65 percent of those voting on the proposal approving it. Unofficial totals show 4,649 voted for it, while 2,416 voted against it.

Source: mlive.com

6.

Democratic candidate LaWana Mayfield made history on Tuesday, soundly defeating Republican opponent Ed Toney in their race for the District 3 city council seat and becoming Charlotte’s first openly gay or lesbian elected official.

Source: goqnotes.com

7.

By a relatively wide margin, Mainers on Tuesday overturned a recently passed law that would have ended a 38-year-old practice of allowing voters to register on Election Day.

Source: bangordailynews.com

8.

Democratic candidate Liz Mathis won the $1 million special Iowa Senate race Tuesday, allowing her party to retain control of the chamber.

Democrats will maintain a 26-24 edge through the 2012 legislative session. Republicans had hoped for a 25-25 tie and the potential to move forward on now-gridlocked priorities, such as a move to begin the process to ban same-sex marriage in Iowa.

Source: desmoinesregister.com

9.

New Jersey voters, the less than 33 percent who turned out, let Republican Gov. Chris Christie know Tuesday who they want controlling the Legislature for the last two years of his term: the Democrats.

“Tonight is a great night for New Jersey Democrats,” Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Middlesex), the state Democratic chairman, said. “New Jersey voters, once again, have returned Democrats to our state Legislature in overwhelming numbers.

Source: newjerseynewsroom.com

10.

Caitlin Copple, an out lesbian who was endorsed by the Victory Fund, has won her race for the Missoula, Montana, city council, defeating an incumbent who voted against an LGBT non-discrimination ordinance.

Source: gaypolitics.com

11.

Democrat Steve Beshear trounced Republican David Williams and independent Gatewood Galbraith on Tuesday to win his second four-year term as Kentucky’s governor.

Democrats also won five of six statewide races

Source: kentucky.com

12.

Out lesbian Houston Mayor Annise Parker won re-election with no run-off, defeating five challengers. With 50.85 percent of the vote for Parker, her nearest challenger stands at 14.81 percent of the vote.

13.

The city of Holyoke, Massachusetts has elected a 22 year old gay mayor. Alex Morse graduated from Brown University in May of this year.

“This is an incredible moment, not just for the campaign, but for the city of Holyoke,’’ Morse told supporters in his victory speech last night.

Source: masslive.com

14.

Indianapolis gets its first out LGBT city council member, with Zach Adamson’s election.

Source: metroweekly.com

15.

Knocking the wind out of a rebounding New York Republican Party, labor-backed Democrats in key swing regions of the state surged to victories on Tuesday, shrinking the GOP’s hold over suburban and upstate counties.

“It’s a great day for Democrats across the state. These races were a lot more about local issues, but it does demonstrate a mood shift in favor of Democrats,” said Jay Jacobs, the New York Democratic Party chairman.

Source: online.wsj.com

16.

Michigan voters removed State Representative Paul Scott, a Republican who chaired the House Education Committee. Teachers unions had pushed for his ouster.

“This isn’t just a victory for the 51st District. … (This is for) everyone in the state of Michigan who felt Republicans have attacked our schools, middle class,” said Doug Pratt, director of public affairs for the Michigan Education Association.

17.

Chris Seelbach will become the first out LGBT member of Cincinnati City Council. He finished ninth of 23 candidates on the ballot. The top nine vote-getters are elected to Council, and Seelbach garnered more than 1,000 votes more than the 10th-place vote-getter.

Source: metroweekly.com

18.

Former Indiana Attorney General Karen Freeman-Wilson won her election to become the first woman mayor of Gary, Indiana.

Source: chicagotribune.com

19.

Voters in Traverse City, Mich. have overwhelmingly voted to keep a nondiscrimination ordinance that protects LGBT people from bias.

Source: advocate.com

20.

Bruce Harris was elected mayor of Chatham Borough, N.J. He’s likely the nation’s first openly gay, African American, Republican mayor.

Source: gaypolitics.com

21.

Knoxville voters on Tuesday swept Madeline Rogero into the mayor’s office. She is the first woman to ever be elected mayor of Knoxville, Tennessee.

Source: knoxnews.com

22.

Ed Lee won the mayoral race in San Francisco becoming the city’s first elected Asian-American mayor.

Source: latimes.com

23.

A new era began Tuesday in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania as two Democratic candidates took control of the county’s government for the first time in its history.

Source: philly.com

24.

In North Carolina, the school board of the state’s largest school district flipped back to liberal control after a conservative takeover two years ago. The conservative mayor of Greensboro also lost his reelection bid, and voters approved sales-tax increases in four largely Democratic counties.

Source: nationalreview.com

25.

Georgia’s age-old, all-out ban on buying beer, wine and liquor at shops on Sunday has met its end.

Early poll results had voters in most of the 51 metro Atlanta jurisdictions giving a resounding yes Tuesday to seven days of liquor sales.

Source: ajc.com