WASHINGTON (AP) — Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot will be asking voters for a second term leading one of the nation’s biggest cities. Republicans will try to take full control of the Virginia Legislature. Governors’ mansions are up for election in Louisiana and Mississippi, and a Democratic governor in red-state Kentucky will try to hang on for another term.
While much of the political focus in 2023 is on the emerging presidential race, voters in some states will be weighing in on lower-profile contests that will nonetheless provide fresh insight into their priorities and views on the direction of the country.
Republicans are expected to try to tie Kentucky Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear to President Joe Biden and other national Democrats who tend to be more liberal. Beshear, making his reelection bid in a state that heavily favors Republicans, gently distanced himself from Biden in a recent interview with The Associated Press, saying, “This race isn’t going to be about the White House.”
“It’s going to be what’s going on in the homes of each and every Kentuckian,” Beshear said. “And I think this last set of elections showed that if you want to be governor, people expect you to have a plan. People expect you to talk to them and not simply use some national talking points.”