North Carolina voters have once again given its governor’s mansion to a Democrat, electing the attorney general, Josh Stein, over the embattled lieutenant governor, Mark Robinson, in a race defined by the extreme rhetoric and controversies surrounding the Republican candidate.
Stein’s victory gives North Carolina its first Jewish governor. It also marks a repudiation of Robinson, the divisive figure who drew attention for stunning public comments about women, the LGBTQ+ community and racial minorities both before and during his time in office, Stein said.
“Tonight, we came together to resoundingly embrace a vision that is optimistic, forward-looking, and welcoming,” Stein said on X. “I couldn’t have done this without each of you.”
Stein’s campaign focused on his record combating opioids as attorney general, his commitment to abortion rights, preventing Republican legislators from exercising unchecked power, and not being Robinson.
At his election watch party, Robinson said: “It’s not about the lies. It’s not about the half-truths. It’s about the people who believe in you … I stand here strong and proud – glad to have run a race that was upright and decent.”
Republican leaders and financial donors largely abandoned Robinson after a CNN investigative report linked him to an online persona in which he described himself as a “black NAZI!”, extolled the virtues of chattel slavery and engaged in grotesque sexual commentary on a pornographic chat board. Robinson denied that the “minisoldr” profile was his, and has filed suit against CNN and others linked to the story.
But the CNN report was only the loudest in a line of controversies that dogged Robinson throughout the campaign. Robinson has, among many other inflammatory comments, referred to homosexuality and transgender identity as “filth”, suggested he would support returning to a time when women did not have the right to vote, and mocked survivors of the Parkland school shooting, calling them “spoiled little bastards”.
Speaking at Lake church in the eastern North Carolina town of White Lake on the Fourth of July, Robinson said “some folks need killing” while describing his posture toward people he perceives as America’s enemies, an assortment in his speech that ranged from “people who have evil intent” to “socialists” and “communists”, a term he regularly assigns to Democrats.
Donald Trump had endorsed Robinson, calling him “Martin Luther King on steroids” at a rally in March. By October, as observers speculated whether Robinson’s political toxicity could cost Republicans the state in the presidential race, Trump had barred him from appearing together in public. Asked if he would withdraw his endorsement, Trump said: “I’m not familiar with the race. I haven’t seen it.”
Though North Carolina’s legislature has a Republican supermajority and a majority of its statewide elected officials are Republicans, Robinson never held a polling lead and lost by the widest margin of any Republican candidate for the office in 20 years. A final tally has not yet been posted, but Robinson ran significantly behind Trump in votes, an indication that Republican swing voters abandoned him.
Robinson joins a long line of failed Republican campaigns in what remains a fundamentally conservative state. In the past 32 years, only two Republicans have won the governorship: Pat McCrory, who served from 2013 to 2017, and Jim Martin, who served from 1985 to 1993. The current governor, Roy Cooper, a Democrat, is term limited.
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وتظاهرت هاريس بحسب صحيفة “ديلي ميل” البريطانية أنها تتحدث مع أحد الناخبين عبر الهاتف وتسأله “هل صوتت بالفعل”؟
ثم توقفت وكأنها تستمع لإجابة الناخب، ثم قالت: “لقد فعلت، شكرا لك”.
وبعد ذلك أدرات هاريس الهاتف باتجاه الموجودين في المكان، الذين صفقوا وهتفوا.
لكن بعض المراقبين للمشهد انتبهوا إلى أن هاتفها بدا وكأنه مفتوح على تطبيق الكاميرا، ولم تكن تجري أي مكالمة هاتفية.
وكتب أحد الأشخاص الذين انتبهوا لما قامت به هاريس على منصة “إكس”: “تظاهرت كامالا بالتحدث إلى ناخب على الهاتف لكنها أظهرت عن طريق الخطأ أن هاتفها كان مفتوحا على تطبيق الكاميرا”.
وخلال فترات البث المباشر التي ظهرت فيها هاريس تلقت عدة مكالمات هاتفية، وأخبرت المتصلين على الخط أن تصويتهم “مهم”، ويجب عليهم بذل الجهد للوصول إلى صناديق الاقتراع اليوم.
ونشرت هاريس منشورا على منصة “إكس” بعدما بدأت أولى نتائج السباق الرئاسي المحتدم بينها والمرشح الجمهوري دونالد ترامب، بالظهور.
وقالت هاريس عبر “إكس” إن “التصويت هو الحرية الأساسية التي تفتح الباب أمام كل الحريات الأخرى”.
وأضافت: “إلى العاملين في مراكز الاقتراع ومسؤولي الانتخابات الذين يعملون بلا كلل لضمان احتساب كل صوت، شكرا لكم”.
وكانت هاريس قد قالت في منشور سابق “إذا كنت لا تزال في الطابور عند إغلاق صناديق الاقتراع، ابق هناك لأن لديك الحق في الإدلاء بصوتك”.
تتوقع شبكة NBC NEWS الأميركية بأن يفوز حاكم ولاية ويست فرجينيا، الجمهوري جيم جاستيس، بالمقعد الذي يشغله حالياً السيناتور الديمقراطي السابق وتحول إلى مستقل، جو مانشين، والذي قرر الإحالة على التقاعد.
وفاز حاكم ولاية ويست فرجينيا الجمهوري، جيم جاستيس بالمقعد الشاغر، في مجلس الشيوخ، الثلاثاء، وفقاً لتوقعات شبكة NBC NEWS، مما يقرِّب الجمهوريين خطوة إضافية نحو تغيير توازن القوى في المجلس.
وواجه جاستيس منافسة ضعيفة من عمدة مدينة ويلينج، جلين إليوت، وهو ديمقراطي، في انتخابات كانت فيها فرص الجمهوريين بالفوز كبيرة بعد تقاعد السيناتور المستقل جو مانشين، الذي ترك الحزب الديمقراطي في مايو الماضي.
السيطرة على مجلس الشيوخ
وبفوز جاستيس، يحتاج الحزب الجمهوري إلى الفوز بمقعد واحد آخر للسيطرة على مجلس الشيوخ حال فازت نائبة الرئيس الديمقراطية كامالا هاريس بالرئاسة. وإذا فاز الرئيس السابق دونالد ترمب، فإن الجمهوريين سيسيطرون على مجلس الشيوخ إذا لم تتغير مقاعد أخرى، حيث يقوم نائب الرئيس بكسر التعادل في المجلس.
وكان جاستيس قد فاز بمنصب الحاكم في عام 2016، وهو نفس العام الذي فاز فيه ترمب بالولاية بفارق يزيد عن 42 نقطة مئوية. في ذلك الوقت، ترشح جاستيس كديمقراطي، وتغلب على منافسه الجمهوري بفارق 7 نقاط مئوية.
وأعلن جيم جاستيس تخليه عن الحزب الديمقراطي في العام التالي، وهو يقف إلى جانب ترمب في تجمع انتخابي.
وبعد فوزه بسهولة في انتخابات إعادة الترشيح عام 2020، بدأت التكهنات تتصاعد بسرعة بشأن ما إذا كان الحاكم الذي تنتهي ولايته في 2024 سيتطلع للترشح لمجلس الشيوخ في انتخابات عام 2024.
وأطلق جاستيس حملته الانتخابية في عام 2023، في وقت كان فيه السيناتور جو مانشين، رفض علناً التأكيد على عزمه الترشح مجددا. وبعد أشهر من الخلافات العلنية مع حزبه، أعلن مانشين أنه لن يسعى لإعادة انتخابه.
وفي حين كان جاستيس هو الخيار المفضل من قبل مؤسسات الحزب الجمهوري، إلا أنه واجه تحديا في الانتخابات التمهيدية في الربيع من النائب الجمهوري أليكس موني.
ومع ذلك، فاز جاستيس بسهولة، متفوقاً على موني بفارق 35 نقطة مئوية في مايو، ومنذ ذلك الحين، لم يواجه سوى معارضة سياسية محدودة.
San Francisco, California – Under a gold-leaf dome in downtown San Francisco, the usual procession of wedding parties tiptoed out of City Hall with freshly minted marriage licences.
But there was a rival line stretching down the steps for a different reason: Californians had arrived in droves to participate in the pivotal 2024 United States election.
This year’s presidential race was rich with symbolism for the San Francisco Bay Area. One of the two major candidates, Democrat and Vice President Kamala Harris, considers the Bay Area home.
She was born in nearby Oakland. Raised in neighbouring Berkeley. And in San Francisco, she built a reputation as a prosecutor that saw her rocket up the political ladder.
First, she was elected the city’s district attorney, serving in City Hall from 2002 to 2011, steps away from the law school where she received her degree.
Later, she became the state’s attorney general and then its senator in the US Congress.
California is known as a Democratic stronghold, part of the “blue wall” of states that consistently vote for the party.
And as the most populous state in the country, California boasts a whopping 54 Electoral College votes. Al Jazeera spoke to voters outside City Hall on Tuesday to understand what was motivating their votes this election cycle.
Anjali Rimi campaigned on election day to support incumbent Mayor London Breed [Allison Griner/Al Jazeera]
Anjali Rimi, social service worker
Standing in the shadow of City Hall’s towering 94-metre (307-foot) dome, Anjali Rimi was hoping to encourage other voters to re-elect Democratic Mayor London Breed to a second term in office.
But the wider general election likewise weighed heavily on Rimi’s mind.
“At all levels — federal, state and the city of San Francisco — what’s at stake is democracy,” Rimi told Al Jazeera.
“What’s at stake is the lives of immigrants. What’s at stake is the lives of minority-religion people, like myself, or many of my Muslim, Sikh, non-white, non-male, non-Christian folks who need to be protected in this country.
“What’s at stake is the fundamental rights of every human being in this world that sometimes we tend to not see right here in the United States of America. And hence, this election is historic on so many fronts.”
Rimi’s words echoed critics’ concerns about Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate and former president known for nativist rhetoric.
When asked why certain voters in the US do not see those fundamental rights, Rimi was unequivocal.
“You have to give and attribute a lot of that to white supremacy. It may not look white always, but privilege and those that have a position continue to want to conquer and lead and brutalise this world, Rimi said.
“Hence, we don’t see the struggles of those that are at the margins — the many of us who have come to this country to make it our home and are just trying to live a happy and peaceful life with our families but still have a connection back to our homelands.”
She added that she hoped to “protect Black and woman leadership” this election cycle.
Melanie Mathewson wears a T-shirt that reads, ‘We are not going back’ [Allison Griner/Al Jazeera]
Melanie Mathewson, 26, political consultant
The decision to end the Supreme Court precedent Roe v Wade in 2022 was a prominent theme in this year’s presidential race.
On one hand, former President Trump campaigned on how his decisions while in office helped pave the way for the repeal of federal protections for abortion care.
“For 54 years, they were trying to get Roe v Wade terminated. And I did it,” he said in January.
By contrast, Harris has campaigned on restoring access to reproductive healthcare. “When Congress passes a bill to restore reproductive freedom nationwide, as president of the United States, I will proudly sign it into law,” she told a campaign rally earlier this year.
That debate helped inspire Melanie Mathewson’s vote in the general election.
“What’s driving me on a federal level is women’s rights,” she said. “I would love to have children one day, and I want to make sure, no matter where I live or where they choose to live, they have access to whatever healthcare that they need for their bodies.”
She also gave a nod to the anti-transgender, anti-immigrant and anti-LGBTQ rhetoric that has become a frequent topic in the Trump campaign.
“Whether I have children who are transgender or I have children who are gay, I want them to feel comfortable and protected no matter where they live in this country, not just in California,” Mathewson said.
“I’m also very concerned about my Black and Brown friends and my friends who have immigrant parents who are not citizens, who are just trying to make their way.”
Christian nationalism, she added, was helping to shape many of Trump’s policies.
“With the possibility of Christian nationalism becoming the way that we rule our country if Trump wins, I’m afraid that there is not going to be freedom of religion, freedom over our bodies,” she said.
Matt Fitzgerald and Maddie Dunn advocated for small businesses on Election Day [Allison Griner/Al Jazeera]
Maddie Dunn, 23, and Matt Fitzgerald, 28, campaigners
The shuttered storefronts that line downtown San Francisco were top of mind for Maddie Dunn and Matt Fitzgerald, who hoped Election Day would bring good news for small businesses.
They hoped that ballot initiatives in San Francisco would result in lower taxes and permitting fees for local companies.
The city’s population plummeted by nearly 65,000 residents during the COVID-19 pandemic, and businesses took a punch as a result.
“San Francisco’s had the slowest COVID recovery in North America,” Fitzgerald said. “We’ve got a lot of problems here in our downtown, with empty office spaces, closing small businesses and things like that.”
Dunn explained that her father was a small business owner, and the downturn left her worried.
“This is an issue that you can really see day to day: How well is your corner store doing? Or your coffee shop? And in San Francisco, the answer is that businesses are recovering, but they’re still struggling from decreased foot traffic, really slow margins,” she said.
Both she and Fitzgerald, however, indicated that they would throw their support behind Harris, who has promised to boost start-ups, despite scepticism from the right.
“She understands how important small businesses are to our communities. And with her economic plan, when it comes down to it, she has the approval of experts,” Dunn said.
Fitzgerald, for his part, warned that Trump represented a threat to US democracy, pointing to his actions on January 6, 2021, when his supporters stormed the US Capitol.
“I think the candidates could not be more different,” he said. “I mean, you have one candidate, our former president, who literally tried to overthrow our democracy on January 6th, and you have a candidate who is pro-democracy, who is pro-women’s rights and is pro-LGBTQ rights.”
This election, he added, will be “a huge fork in the road”.
Jennifer Fieber held up copies of the ‘Pissed Off Voter Guide’ on Election Day [Allison Griner/Al Jazeera]
Jennifer Fieber, 51, member of San Francisco Tenants Union
For decades, the San Francisco Bay Area has been in the grips of a housing crisis.
Housing prices are unaffordable for many residents. Rental costs have ticked up. And a January 2024 report from the city government estimated that homelessness affects at least 8,323 residents — a likely undercount. More than 20,000 sought assistance for homelessness over the course of a year.
Jennifer Fieber, a member of the San Francisco Tenants Union, pointed to the crisis as the main motivation for her vote. She indicated that she would be supporting progressive candidate Aaron Peskin in his race for mayor.
“Tenants are 64 percent of the city,” Fieber said. “I think if you stabilise their housing, it has a profound effect on the working class and the ability of people to live in the city. So we need candidates that are gonna protect tenants.”
She explained that high housing prices were forcing essential workers like nurses and teachers out of the city.
When asked which candidates had put forward platforms to address the issue, Fieber responded: “Actually, I think that they have been ignoring it to their detriment.”
That includes on the national scale, she added. “I support the Democrats, but they don’t really have a housing policy.”
Joshua Kelly hopes to ensure a local highway remains closed as the effects of climate change become more apparent [Allison Griner/Al Jazeera]
Joshua Kelly, 45, stay-at-home dad
For homemaker and stay-at-home dad Joshua Kelly, the roadway that lines San Francisco’s Pacific Coast was a motivation to get out the vote.
That four-lane road, known as the Great Highway, was closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, to allow for outdoor recreation. Residents like Kelly hope it remains closed, particularly as the highway faces the ravages of climate change.
“Our plan [is] to turn a coastal highway that’s falling into the ocean into a park and promenade for the whole city,” Kelly said.
He argued that the stakes are bigger than just the fate of a road.
“What kind of a city do we want to be? Do we want to be a city that acknowledges and embraces climate change and plans for it?” Kelly asked. “Or do we want to be a city that prioritises polluting, climate-change-causing car travel and the convenience of that above everything else?”
He credited outgoing President Joe Biden with taking some steps to address the climate crisis.
“Joe Biden was able to, through the Inflation Reduction Act, create one of the biggest pieces of climate legislation. And we’re seeing a lot of renewable energy come out of that,” Kelly explained.
But he warned that continued activism would be necessary to keep the issue at the forefront of national policy, no matter the outcome on Tuesday.
“I think we’re part of a coalition that’s going to put pressure on Kamala Harris to do that if she is elected as well. And if Trump gets in, he’s going to push fossil fuels. He’s going to end subsidies for renewable energy. He’s going to send us backwards.”
Kelly also feared the violence Trump might spark if he refuses to accept a defeat at Harris’s hands.
“I am concerned about the potential for violence,” Kelly said. “If the election becomes sort of contested, there is a good chance that the House of Representatives and the Supreme Court would conspire to give the election to Trump, despite him losing the votes in the Electoral College.”
Voters cast their ballots outside San Francisco’s City Hall on November 5 [Allison Griner/Al Jazeera]
وذكر ترامب على منصة “تروث سوشيال”: “هناك الكثير من الحديث عن عمليات غش في فيلادلفيا”.
ونقلت شبكة “سي إن إن” عن إدارة شرطة فيلادلفيا قولها إنها ليست على علم بقضايا “الغش الهائل” التي أشار إليها ترامب في منشور عبر منصته.
وأضافت إدارة الشرطة أنها ليست على علم أيضا بأي مشاكل تتعلق بالتصويت تتطلب استجابة من جانب جهات إنفاذ القانون.
وكانت عدة مصادر مطلعة كشفت أن هناك مناقشات داخل حملة ترامب حول إمكانية إعلان الرئيس السابق عن فوزه في وقت مبكر من ليلة الانتخابات، كما فعل في عام 2020، بحسب قناة “سي إن بي سي نيوز” الأميركية.
وأدلى ترامب بصوته قرب منزله في بالم بيتش بولاية فلوريدا، وقال للصحفيين “إذا خسرت الانتخابات، وإذا كانت انتخابات عادلة، فسأكون أول المعترفين بخسارتي”.
ووردت أنباء عن وجود أعطال تقنية في عملية إحصاء الأصوات بمقاطعة كامبريا بولاية بنسلفانيا، ووافقت محكمة محلية على طلب من مسؤولين انتخابيين بتمديد ساعات التصويت لساعتين.
وأخلت السلطات مركزي اقتراع بمقاطعة فولتون في ولاية جورجيا لفترة وجيزة بعد تهديدات زائفة بوجود قنابل.
Florida voters defeated a measure to enshrine abortion access into the state constitution, a devastating blow for advocates who had hoped to roll back the state’s six-week abortion ban and continue their now-broken streak of ballot-measure victories.
A total of 10 states voted on abortion-related ballot initiatives on Tuesday. Results are forthcoming in seven states, four of which could overturn post-Roe v Wade abortion bans and restore access. New York and Maryland passed ballot measures to expand their states’ protections for abortion and cement their status as abortion havens.
Given that abortion is one of the top issues in the 2024 election, Democrats had hoped these measures would boost turnout among their base. But while many of the outstanding measures appear on track to pass, including in swing states like Nevada and Arizona, polls suggest a chunk of voters are effectively splitting their votes by supporting both abortion rights and Republicans.
Out of all the abortion-related measures, the Florida initiative – known as amendment 4 – was long considered the most difficult to pass. Unlike other measures, which only require a simple majority – or, in the case of Colorado, 55% of the vote – to pass, the Florida measure needed to garner 60% of the vote. At the time it was called by the Associated Press, the Florida measure had amassed a clear majority, with 57% of the vote.
The Florida result is a bitter pill for abortion rights supporters, shattering a string of successes at the ballot box. Advocates have won abortion-related ballot measures in seven states since Roe was overturned.
After the US supreme court overturned Roe in 2022, Florida became a refuge for people fleeing the abortion bans that now blanket the rest of the US south, before its six-week ban took effect in May of this year.
Had the Florida measure passed on Tuesday, it would have protected the right to abortion up until fetal viability, or about 24 weeks into pregnancy.
In the weeks leading up to election day, Florida Republicans alarmed civil rights and voting rights groups by unleashing a wave of attacks on the measure. Law enforcement officials investigated people who signed a petition to get the measure onto the ballot, while the state’s agency for healthcare administration put up a webpage attacking the amendment. The health department also sent cease-and-desist letters to local TV stations that aired an advertisement supporting the measure, prompting the measure’s organizers to sue.
“Florida’s deadly abortion ban is out of line with the values of our state,” said Lauren Brenzel, manager of the campaign for the amendment, Yes on 4 Florida, in a statement. “Florida voters sent that message loud and clear today, and despite the fact that only a minority of voters voted to retain the abortion ban our extremist government will exploit the situation to deny its own constituents the right to decide on our bodily autonomy.”
Read more of the Guardian’s 2024 US election coverage
