Interpreting Election Night – The Joe Cunningham Show

The Joe Cunningham Show airs 3-4 p.m. every weekday on NewsTalk 96.5 KPEL. The daily show notes offer you a look into the topics of the day and the links to the top stories and Joe's own writings on the state of politics in Louisiana and around the country. Follow Joe on Twitter at @JoePCunningham and Like the Joe Cunningham Show on Facebook. You can also subscribe to the Joe Cunningham Show podcast on Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, or Amazon.

A Busy Election Night

First up, Kansas: Yes, voters resoundingly rejected an anti-abortion amendment that would state there is no constitutional right to an abortion. The media and the Democrats have now strongly pivoted back to abortion as a campaign issue based on these results. There are two problems, though.

The first is the text of the amendment, which is more than likely the source of some confusion in the ballot box.

Because Kansans value both women and children, the constitution of the state of Kansas does not require government funding of abortion and does not create or secure a right to abortion. To the extent permitted by the constitution of the United States, the people, through their elected state representatives and state senators, may pass laws regarding abortion, including, but not limited to, laws that account for circumstances of pregnancy resulting from rape or incest, or circumstances of necessity to save the life of the mother

That looks like text that says the legislature will be taking action to legalize abortion, which could very well have encouraged voters to vote "No" by mistake.

But the larger problem here is this: Last night's turnout in Kansas was overwhelmingly pro-Republican. More than 750,000 voters showed up to vote in the gubernatorial primary, and the GOP winner had more votes than the entire Democratic primary.

In Missouri, the right Eric won. Attorney General Eric Schmitt won the Republican primary, with Rep. Vicky Hartzler coming in second. Eric Greitens, the scandal-plagued former governor, came in a close third to Hartzler, but it should seal the end of his political career in Missouri.

The Democrats Promote Pro-Trump Candidates

In an ongoing strategy that many in the party are warning about, Democrats continue to spend money to get pro-Trump Republicans to win in primaries against Republicans who voted to impeach Trump. Adam Kinzinger, ostensibly a Republican though on the January 6 Committee, is mad about it.

This is why you don't get in bed with Democrats. They don't care that they've called Trump and his allies threats to Democracy, and they don't care that you stand on "principled" ground to oppose Trump or vote for his impeachment. The moment they think they can win, they will come after you. Anti-Trump Republicans are still Republicans, and the Democrats want to win. They don't want your friendship.

The issue, though, may be moot. Democrats think getting pro-Trump Republicans into run-off campaigns will be a bad thing for the Republicans. But... the polling shows differently. The Democrats may be burning precious money when there are districts Biden won by double digits that are now in trouble.

Democrats Now Rely on Kyrsten Sinema

They thought getting Joe Manchin on board was the hard part, but Sinema is now acting very coyly about how she'll vote for the Schumer-Manchin bill. The bigger problem for Democrats, though, is the timeline here. See Fox News' Chad Pergram.

Headlines Of The Day

• CNN Just Got Some More Awful News (RedState)
• Lafayette council leaders say they have 'diminished' access to Josh Guillory in rehab (The Advertiser)
• Demi Lovato updates pronouns to include she/her again: 'I'm such a fluid person' (Fox News)
• Democrats scramble for Sinema’s support on climate, health and tax bill (MSN)
• CIA targeted al-Zawahri alone on his balcony after months of surveillance, building his 'pattern of life' (Fox News)

Tweet Of The Day