ZWF: The elections to watch this Tuesday
Zander's Weekend Facts #91: Sunday, November 5, 2023
Inside this week’s edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts, what to know before Election Day on Tuesday, and a look at what Zander’s been reading this past week. Plus, a compilation of the top headlines you need to know about from the last seven days.
Also, go listen to the latest episode of the Zander’s Facts podcast! Episode 122 features a guide to this Tuesday’s elections taking place across the United States. The podcast breaks down what to watch for in the gubernatorial races in Kentucky and Mississippi, along with the Virginia General Assembly elections. Download the Zander’s Facts podcast wherever you get your podcasts!
Here are Zander’s Weekend Facts for Sunday, November 5, 2023:
Election Day is on Tuesday
In an odd-numbered year, elections typically aren’t a big focus come November. But this year, there are critical races taking place in several states that could serve as a key test for both major political parties ahead of the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
Election Day is this Tuesday, November 7 and while there aren’t many noteworthy races taking place, Ballotpedia shows that nearly every state and many localities across the country are hosting some kind of election. (You can also use Ballotpedia’s Sample Ballot tool to find what will be on your ballot this Tuesday.)
Here are the states holding the elections you’ll want to watch for on Tuesday:
Kentucky: The Bluegrass State is hosting one of three gubernatorial contests this year (Mississippi and Louisiana being the other two.) Popular Democratic Governor Andy Beshear is favored to win re-election against Republican state Attorney General Daniel Cameron in a state that typically votes Republican. Kentucky is also holding elections for several other statewide offices, including Attorney General, Secretary of State, and Treasurer.
Mississippi: The Magnolia State is holding the other gubernatorial election that will take place this month. Current Republican Governor Tate Reeves will face Democrat Brandon Presley, a member of the Mississippi Public Service Commission. Reeves appears to be favored in the deep-red state, although he has suffered from low approval ratings. All 174 seats in the Mississippi Legislature are up for grabs, along with other statewide offices such as Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, and Secretary of State.
New Jersey: All 120 seats in the New Jersey Legislature are on the ballot this year in The Garden State. Both chambers are currently controlled by Democrats, with the party favored to maintain their majorities. Several municipalities are also holding elections throughout the state.
Ohio: The Buckeye State will be voting on two closely watched ballot measures. Issue 1 concerns abortion rights and would establish in the state constitution the right to “make and carry out one’s own reproductive decisions” if passed. Issue 2 would allow anyone 21 years old or older to use or possess marijuana if passed, along with allowing the sale and purchase of marijuana and a 10% tax on all marijuana sales. Because a previous ballot measure in August failed that would have required constitutional amendments to receive 60% of votes to be enacted, only a 50% simple majority is needed for the measures to pass.
Virginia: The Old Dominion is featuring what many have claimed to be the most consequential elections of 2023. All 140 seats of the General Assembly are up for grabs as both Democrats and Republicans believe they can win both chambers of the state legislature. The elections could determine which party controls the state government as Governor Glenn Youngkin is a Republican. The legislative elections have been viewed as a potential bellwether for next year’s federal elections and could have an impact on several issues such as abortion rights. Virginia is currently the only southern state in the U.S. that allows the right to an abortion. Here is a breakdown of the elections taking place in the two chambers of the General Assembly:
House of Delegates: Republicans currently hold a 52-48 majority in the legislature’s lower chamber. A 50-50 split would mean a power-sharing agreement would need to be reached between the two parties. Here are the races currently rated as “Competitive” by the Virginia Public Access Project (VPAP) and could decide control of the chamber:
House District 21 (Northern Virginia - parts of Prince William County); 2021 vote: +3.4R, 2022 vote: +1.8D
House District 22 (Northern Virginia - parts of Prince William County); 2021 vote: +7.1R, 2022 vote: +2.8R
House District 57 (Central Virginia - parts of Goochland and Henrico counties); 2021 vote: +2.9R, 2022 vote: +0.8D
House District 65 (Northern Virginia - Fredericksburg, parts of Stafford and Spotsylvania counties); 2021 vote: +2.9R, 2022 vote: +8.9D
House District 82 (Central Virginia - Dinwiddie County and Petersburg); 2021 vote: +2.1R, 2022 vote: +1.2D
House District 89 (Hampton Roads - parts of Chesapeake and Suffolk); 2021 vote: +7.5R, 2022 vote: +1.0D
House District 97 (Hampton Roads - parts of Virginia Beach); 2021 vote: +2.2R, 2022 vote: +5.2D
State Senate: Democrats currently hold a 22-18 majority in the upper chamber of the legislature. With Republican Lieutenant Governor Winsome Sears serving as the body’s presiding officer, Republicans would have a majority in the event of a 20-20 tie. Here are the races currently rated as “Competitive” by VPAP and could decide control of the chamber:
Senate District 17 (Hampton Roads/Southern Virginia - Isle of Wright County, Portsmouth, parts of Dinwiddie County and Suffolk); 2021 vote: +5.2R, 2022 vote: +1.0D
Senate District 24 (Hampton Roads - Williamsburg, York County, parts of Newport News and James City County); 2021 vote: +3.5R, 2022 vote: +1.1D
Senate District 27 (Northern Virginia - Fredericksburg, parts of Stafford and Spotsylvania counties); 2021 vote: +8.5R, 2022 vote: +2.1D
Senate District 31 (Northern Virginia - parts of Fauquier and Loudoun counties); 2021 vote: +0.7R, 2022 vote: +5.6D
Remember to have a plan to vote (if you haven’t already done so) this Tuesday by going to vote.org.
For more information on this week’s top story, listen to last week’s episode of the Zander’s Facts Podcast - Episode 122. The Factual 2023 Election Guide
What Zander’s been reading
Pizza is probably the greatest food known to man. Thankfully, Tasting Table has gathered many ideas to make pizza even better (if that is even possible.)
Check out this week’s featured article at Tasting Table - 17 Pizza Ordering Hacks You Need To Start Using - (Apple News link)
Rapid-fire Facts
These are top news headlines from the past week in rapid-fire fashion:
Trump Court Cases: Several developments occurred last week in the various court cases involving former President Donald Trump. In the $250 million fraud trial in New York against Trump, his family, and the Trump Organization, several members of the Trump family have or are expected to testify. Former President Trump’s son Eric Trump testified in the case last week while daughter Ivanka Trump and Trump himself are expected to testify this coming week. Additionally, Judge Arthur Engoron, the judge presiding over the case, expanded a gag order over Trump on Friday to include members of Trump’s legal team.
Israel Aid Bill: The House of Representatives passed a plan to provide aid for Israel last week, the first major bill passed by the body since electing Mike Johnson (R-LA) as the new House Speaker. The bill would fund $14.3 billion in aid by cutting funding to the Internal Revenue Service. The bill also fails to provide aid funding for Ukraine. 12 Democrats joined all but two Republicans in approving the bill, which appears to be dead in the Senate and has not received support from President Joe Biden. Biden previously requested over $100 billion in aid funding for Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan, and the U.S. southern border with Mexico.
UAW Strike: The United Auto Workers union reached a deal on Monday with the final of three automakers whom UAW had been striking against. General Motors agreed to a deal with UAW that will end the nearly two-month-long work stoppage that affected about one-third of the union’s members at Ford, GM, and Stellantis factories. The deal reportedly includes 25% pay increases for most workers over the four-and-a-half-year deal. GM had previously admitted that the strike cost the company nearly $800 million.
Sam Bankman-Fried: Former cryptocurrency titan Sam Bankman-Fried was found guilty of seven criminal charges on Friday. Bankman-Fried could face decades in prison after he was convicted of money laundering, securities fraud, and wire fraud. Bankman-Fried is the former chairman of FTX, which is a cryptocurrency exchange and crypto hedge fund that has filed for bankruptcy. Bankman-Fried is expected to appeal the ruling, which has him facing the prospect of life in prison.
Cedar Fair-Six Flags Merger: Cedar Fair and Six Flags announced their intent to merge on Thursday, creating a massive amusement park corporation. The two companies, who would merge in an $8 billion deal, operate 27 amusement parks, 15 water parks, and nine resort properties combined across North America. Some of the more popular parks that would be owned by the company, which will operate under the Six Flags name, include Six Flags Great America in Chicago, Cedar Point in Ohio, Six Flags Over Georgia in Atlanta, and Carowinds in both North and South Carolina.
Zander’s Facts Sporting Club
Here are the top headlines from the sports world in the Sporting Club:
NFL Week 9: The biggest game so far of the NFL season gets today’s action started from Germany. The Dolphins and Chiefs kick off from Frankfurt at 9:30 am et this morning on NFL Network. Later today, Seahawks-Ravens, Vikings-Falcons, and Rams-Packers highlight the 1:00 pm et window. At 4:00 pm et, the Colts face the Panthers, the Giants take on the Raiders, and the Eagles host the Cowboys in a massive NFC East showdown. Sunday night brings the Bills and Bengals together for the first time since Damar Hamlin went down during last season’s game in Cincinnati. Then on Monday night, the Chargers head east to take on the Jets. On Thursday night, the Steelers held on at home against the Titans 20-16.
College Football Week 10: A double whammy of classic shoot-outs highlighted the primetime window of Saturday’s college football action. In the Coliseum, #5 Washington took down #20 USC 52-42, while #8 Alabama held tough at home with a 42-28 win over #14 LSU. Elsewhere around the country, #22 Oklahoma State upset #9 Oklahoma 27-24 in the last scheduled Bedlam meeting, #2 Georgia took down #12 Missouri 30-21, and Clemson got a big win over #15 Notre Dame 31-23. Also, #7 Texas beat #23 Kansas State in overtime 33-30, #1 Ohio State survived an upset bid from Rutgers 35-16, #10 Ole Miss won against Texas A&M 38-35, and Army got its first win over an AP-ranked team since 1972 with a 23-3 win over #25 Air Force. (Rankings used were from the College Football Playoff.)
MLB World Series: The Texas Rangers clinched their first championship in franchise history on Wednesday night, taking down the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-0. The Rangers won this year’s World Series in five games, the shortest World Series since the Boston Red Sox beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2018 in five games. The Rangers won all 11 games they played in the postseason, including taking down the American League’s top two seeds in the Baltimore Orioles and Houston Astros. Shortstop Corey Seager took home the World Series MVP honor after scoring six runs and hitting three home runs in the series.
NCAA Lawsuit: A lawsuit against the NCAA and several major collegiate athletic conferences could result in payouts of billions of dollars. The lawsuit, filed by three former college athletes, argues that former football and basketball athletes are entitled to damages related to their NIL being showcased in games before the ban on NIL was lifted in 2021. The lawsuit also says that any athlete at a Power Five school should be entitled to damages from social media earnings. U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken gave class-action status to the lawsuit on Friday, meaning potential payments would not be limited to the three plaintiffs. A jury trial is set to begin in the case in January 2025.
Ballon d’Or: Soccer superstar Lionel Messi took home this year’s Ballon d’Or, the most prestigious individual honor in soccer. Messi guided his country, Argentina, to their third World Cup title last year in Qatar, but first with Messi starring. Messi moved to Inter Miami in MLS in the summer, becoming the first active MLS player to take home the award. For the women, Spain and Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati took home the Ballon d'Or Féminin after leading Spain to their first Women’s World Cup title. In other soccer news, it was revealed last week that Saudi Arabia is the only bidder to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup.
Wrapping up the Facts
Before this edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts wraps up, here’s another reminder to check out the latest episodes of the Zander’s Facts podcast. Download and listen to the latest episode of the podcast, along with every episode of Zander’s Facts, wherever you get your podcasts.
You can also listen to every episode of the podcast on this very website. All Zander’s Facts podcast episodes are now available on zandersfacts.com under the “Zander’s Facts” tab for your enjoyment! That includes the next episode of the Zander’s Facts Podcast, which comes out next Wednesday!
That’s a wrap on this week’s edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts. The facts in print return next Sunday, November 12, 2023.
