US elections: Voters in Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky and Mississippi head to polls
Representative image of elections in the US.
Voters in US states including Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio and New Jersey are heading to elections on Tuesday (Nov 7) that could offer an interim verdict on the 2024 presidential election. According to a report by The Guardian, voters in Kentucky and Mississippi would be electing governors, voters in Virginia and New Jersey will decide legislative control while those in Ohio will determine whether the state's constitution should protect abortion rights.
Ohio is the only state which is seeing voting on protecting abortion rights. The Guardian report said that a ballot question in Ohio will ask voters whether to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution. The voters will also answer a ballot question about whether marijuana should be legalised for recreational purposes. If approved, marijuana would be legalised, regulated and taxed.
Meanwhile, a report by CNN said that elections in Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Kentucky could offer a roadmap for next year for both Democrats and Republicans. Voters in Kentucky said a wide range of issues including abortion, schools and border security motivated them to vote on Tuesday.
Biden trails Trump in 2024 election's key states
Polls released last Sunday showed that President Joe Biden is trailing Republican frontrunner and former president Donald Trump in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada and Pennsylvania. As per New York Times and Siena College Polls, Biden was ahead in Wisconsin. Biden defeated Trump in all six states in 2020, but Trump now leads by an average of 48% to 44% in those states, the polls also showed.
They further revealed that Biden's multiracial and multigenerational coalition appeared to be fraying. Voters under the age of 30 favoured Biden by only a single percentage. His lead among voters is down to single digits.
Trump meanwhile, saw a rise in support by Black voters by 22 per cent, a level New York Times reported was unseen in presidential politics for a Republican in modern times.