NewDEAL Victories and Key Takeaways from Downballot Voting

The NewDEAL
3 min readDec 5, 2024

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In the aftermath of the recent election cycle, there’s no denying the significant setback Democrats experienced at the top of the ticket, with the loss of Vice President Kamala Harris.

“I thank Vice President Harris, Governor Walz, and their team for their inspiring campaign, grounded in a belief that there is more that unites us than divides us and focused on commonsense solutions,” NewDEAL CEO Debbie Cox Bultan said about the results of the presidential race.

Yet voters across the country did more than vote for a new president. Millions of people in cities, suburbs, and rural areas elected state and local officials who represent the values NewDEAL continues to fight for.

Two weeks after Election Day, 94 NewDEAL Leaders have secured victory in their races, including 18 Leaders and alumni who ran for Governor, Congress, and other new offices, ushering in a renewed era of practical leadership in communities across the country.

These victories include statewide and federal races:

  • Matt Meyer, governor-elect of Delaware
  • Josh Stein, governor-elect of North Carolina
  • Angela Alsobrooks, U.S. Senator-elect from Maryland
  • Ruben Gallego, U.S. Senator-elect from Arizona
  • Janelle Bynum, U.S. Representative-elect from Oregon
  • Sarah Elfreth, U.S. Representative-elect from Maryland
  • Adam Gray, U.S. Representative-elect from California
  • Sam Liccardo, U.S. Representative-elect from California
  • Sarah McBride, U.S. Representative-elect from Delaware
  • Kristen McDonald Rivet, U.S. Representative-elect from Michigan
  • Tobias Read, Secretary of State-elect in Oregon

In addition, every NewDEAL Leader who ran for reelection in their current position won their race. Voters clearly resonate with NewDEAL Leader’s approach to getting things done as they focus on fighting for freedom, democracy, and expanding opportunity for everyday Americans across the country.

On a broader level, Donald Trump’s narrow victory provided few, if any, coattails for Republicans in downballot races.

STATE LEGISLATURES

  • Beyond NewDEAL Leaders winning, Democrats made solid gains at the state and local levels. Democrats broke the Republican super-majorities in three states: Montana, North Carolina, and Wisconsin. In North Carolina and Wisconsin, these victories provide significant leverage to Democratic governors when negotiating with Republican-controlled legislatures.
  • Democrats maintained control of several legislative chambers, including the Pennsylvania House and both chambers in Nevada.
  • Republicans gained control of the Michigan state House, flipping it from Democratic control.
  • Pending recounts, the Minnesota House went from Democratic control to an evenly-split chamber.

Across the country, Americans voted on ballot measures on a variety of key issues.

ABORTION

Voters overwhelmingly supported ballot measures to protect the rights and health of pregnant women. Seven states (Arizona, Colorado, New York, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, and Nevada) passed measures protecting abortion rights. And a majority of voters in Florida supported a bill to protect abortion rights (57 percent), but fell shy of the 60 percent needed to pass the measure.

DEMOCRACY

When it comes to how citizens vote, voters in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Missouri, Nevada, and Oregon voters rejected the idea of ranked choice voting, while Washington, D.C., adopted a measure to do so. As for primaries, voters prefer closed primaries rather than open primaries. Voters in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, and South Dakota rejected ballot measures to move from partisan primaries to open primaries.

ECONOMY

On the economy, voters largely opted to provide sick leave and increase the minimum wage. Both Nebraska and Missouri voters passed measures requiring a minimum amount of paid sick leave; and voters in Alaska and Missouri passed minimum wage increases. Voters in Arizona rejected a measure to pay tipped workers less than minimum wage.

In the months and years ahead, state and local officials will be key to pushing forward a positive, pro-freedom agenda. And as Bultan said in her statement, “NewDEAL will continue to fight for freedom, democracy, and expanding opportunity for everyday Americans across the country.”

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The NewDEAL
The NewDEAL

Written by The NewDEAL

Leading on solutions for the new economy & making government work. Learn more at newdealleaders.org and newdealforum.org

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