How Election Week 2022 Went Down

Zoha just mentioned Mooney of West Virginia, whose career is a prime example of how nationalized our politics have become: He used to be a state senator … across the border in Maryland.

Polls have closed in Arkansas. The state is electing a new governor, and Republican Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the former spokesperson for President Trump and daughter of former Gov. Mike Huckabee, is heavily favored to beat her Democratic opponent, Chris Jones. If she does so, she’ll become the state’s first woman governor.

Sen. John Boozman, the incumbent Republican, is also heavily favored to beat his Democratic challenger, Natalie James. Interestingly, Boozman’s colleague Sen. Tom Cotton did not even face a Democratic challenger in 2020.

In the 2nd District, which includes Little Rock, the capital and largest city, Republican Rep. French Hill is also facing a challenge from Democrat Quintessa Hathaway that he’s expected to win. Hill faced a credible challenge from Joyce Elliott in 2020, a Democratic leader in the state, but he still won that race 54 percent to 45 percent. Any Democratic candidate needs to turn out the vote in Little Rock to have a chance, which may be hurt by the most recent round of redistricting that carved up the city. Little Rock, which has a large Black voting population, was split up among three districts, and the map is now facing a court challenge.

There are also four ballot initiatives voters will decide in the state. I mentioned the possibility of marijuana legalization earlier in the night, but voters are also deciding on whether to require a 60 percent super-majority for future ballot measures to pass — an initiative put on the ballot by the state legislature — whether to pass a freedom-of-religion law and whether to allow the legislature to call an extraordinary session of the legislature, a power currently held only by the governor. This is largely seen as a reaction against Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s COVID-19 restrictions, which he enacted with executive action.

It continues to be a great night for Republicans in Florida, who are being aided by a very generous redistricting plan passed last year. ABC has projected that Republican Anna Paulina Luna has flipped the Pinellas-based 13th District and that Maria Elvira Salazar has held the Miami-based 27th District. ABC also projects that Republican Cory Mills has flipped the Orlando-based 7th District and that Laurel Lee has held the competitive 15th District. ABC also projects Republican Aaron Bean has won the 4th District, a redrawn constituency in North Florida. Republicans need just 5 seats to flip the House, and they’re getting at least three out of Florida already.