Off-year elections held on Tuesday are deciding governors in Kentucky and Mississippi, the fate of abortion and marijuana amendments in Ohio, legislative control in Virginia and mayoral races in two of the nation’s biggest cities. Follow along for the latest updates:

Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear reelected to second term in Kentucky, overcoming state’s GOP dominance

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear won reelection to a second term Tuesday, notching another significant statewide victory in an increasingly red state that could serve as a model for other Democrats on how to thrive politically heading into next year’s defining presidential election.

Beshear, 45, rode his stewardship over record economic growth and his handling of multiple disasters, from tornadoes and floods to the COVID-19 pandemic, to victory over Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron, a protege of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. In what could be a preview of how Democrats campaign in 2024, Beshear hammered Cameron throughout the campaign for his support of the state’s sweeping abortion ban, which makes no exceptions for victims of rape or incest.

The outcome gives divided government another stamp of voter approval in Kentucky, as Republicans hold supermajorities in both chambers of the legislature and continue to dominate the state’s congressional delegation, including both U.S. Senate seats.

Beshear’s victory sustains a family dynasty that has repeatedly defied the Bluegrass State’s tilt toward the GOP. His father, Steve Beshear, is a popular former two-term governor. By the end of Andy Beshear’s second four-year term, a Beshear will have presided in the Kentucky governor’s office for 16 of the last 20 years.

The win, which took place in increasingly difficult political terrain, could position the younger Beshear to join a growing list of Democratic governors flagged as potential contenders for higher office nationally.

Ohio voters enshrine abortion access in constitution in latest statewide win for reproductive rights

Ohio voters approved a constitutional amendment on Tuesday that ensures access to abortion and other forms of reproductive health care, the latest victory for abortion rights supporters since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year.

Ohio became the seventh state where voters decided to protect abortion access after the landmark ruling and was the only state to consider a statewide abortion rights question this year.

The outcome of the intense, off-year election could be a bellwether for 2024, when Democrats hope the issue will energize their voters and help President Joe Biden keep the White House. Voters in Arizona, Missouri and elsewhere are expected to vote on similar protections next year.

Ohio’s constitutional amendment, on the ballot as Issue 1, included some of the most protective language for abortion access of any statewide ballot initiative since the Supreme Court’s ruling. Opponents had argued that the amendment would threaten parental rights, allow unrestricted gender surgeries for minors and revive “partial birth” abortions, which are federally banned.

Ohio voters approve ballot proposal to legalize marijuana for recreational use, as Republicans weigh rewrite

Issue 2 on the statewide ballot would allow adults 21 and over to buy and possess up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis and to grow plants at home. A 10% tax would be imposed on purchases, with proceeds going to administrative costs, addiction treatment, municipalities with dispensaries, and social equity and jobs programs.

Ohio became the 24th state to allow adult use cannabis for fun on Tuesday.

The conclusion of the vote follows a nearly two-year push by the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, which surmounted administrative, legal and legislative hurdles to put the citizen-initiated statute before voters.

In accordance with Ohio law, the proposal went first to the Republican-dominated Legislature, which was given four months to pass it. With many majority lawmakers opposed, they refused.

GOP Senate President Matt Huffman stood firm against the proposal and has suggested lawmakers may try to rewrite or even repeal it.

Republican Gov. Mike DeWine also opposed it, citing traffic safety concerns, among other things. Some of the state’s most influential business and manufacturing organizations also worked against the measure, citing concerns that workplace safety would deteriorate, absenteeism would rise and workers’ compensation rates would be driven up.

The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol argued that it’s time Ohio legalizes and regulates cultivation, manufacturing, testing and sales of marijuana and marijuana products for adults 21 and older. Proponents say the measure will return tax revenue for pot purchases now going to neighboring states where it’s legal, and help thwart the black market.

They have touted their proposal as “fixing a broken system,” while assuring localities where dispensaries are situated maintain some control over the system and reap a portion of the proceeds.

Opponents say the taxes collected will benefit the marijuana industry more than Ohio’s budget.

Virginia Democrat ousts Republican incumbent from Senate

Democrat Schuyler VanValkenburg has won Virginia Senate District 16, beating Republican incumbent Siobhan Dunnavant.

VanValkenburg, a high school civics teacher, has served in the House of Delegates since 2017.

Virginia’s closely watched legislative campaign cycle wrapped up Tuesday, as voters decided whether to empower Republicans with full state government control or let Democrats keep serving as a bulwark against Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s agenda.

Democrats made protecting abortion access the centerpiece of their campaigns, while Republicans in many of the key swing districts coalesced around Youngkin’s pledge to try again for an abortion ban after 15 weeks with exceptions for rape, incest and situations where the mother’s life is at risk. Such legislation was defeated this year in the Democratic-controlled Senate.

Democrat who endured sex scandal on ballot in Virginia

A key race in Virginia’s pivotal legislative elections hinges on a Democrat whose campaign was upended by revelations she engaged in sex acts with her husband on a pornographic website.

Susanna Gibson is running against Republican businessman David Owen in one of the state’s most competitive districts after all 100 seats in the House of Delegates were redrawn to conform with the 2020 census.

Some people wrote off Gibson’s chances after The Washington Post reported in September about her participation in livestreamed sex, which included soliciting payments from viewers in exchange for specific acts.

But Gibson, a nurse practitioner, refused to withdraw from the race and accused Republicans of dirty politics for exposing her conduct. She has largely ignored the allegations and focused on abortion rights, which Democrats said could be in jeopardy if Republicans gain control of the Legislature.

Ballot shortages for some in Mississippi as GOP governor and Democrat related to Elvis face off

Mississippians endured long lines and some polling places ran out of ballots Tuesday as the state decided a hard-fought governor’s race between Republican incumbent Tate Reeves and Democratic challenger Brandon Presley.

One judge ordered all polls in the largest county to remain open an extra hour, until 8 p.m. CST, and another judge said four polling places in some suburbs of Jackson, the capital city, had to extend voting until 9 p.m. The rulings came after both political parties and a nonpartisan group, Mississippi Votes, petitioned for the additional voting time in Hinds County because of the ballot problems. More ballots were being provided to the locations.

Credell Calhoun, a Hinds County supervisor, said he had heard of at least seven precincts that ran out of ballots. He said the county’s election commissioners underestimated turnout.

“This is way beyond anything we’ve ever seen in the electoral process,” Calhoun said. “As hard as we worked to get the vote out and then you’re going to have stupidity to not have enough ballots.”

Republicans dominate in the conservative state, but Democrats were making an aggressive push for a rare victory in a governor’s race in the Deep South.

Coding error in Pennsylvania county flips some votes

Officials say a coding error in an eastern Pennsylvania county caused votes to be flipped on a ballot question that asked whether a pair of incumbent state appeals judges should be retained.

Voters are deciding whether Pennsylvania Superior Court Judges Jack Panella and Victor Stabile should be retained for additional 10-year terms. Officials in Northampton County say the “yes” or “no” votes for each judge were being switched because of the error. If a voter marked “yes” to retain Panella and “no” on Stabile, for example, it was reflected as “no” on Panella and “yes” on Stabile.

County officials say voters first noticed the error, which affected all the county’s voting machines in use on Tuesday. They plan to correct the error when votes are tabulated.

Officials say the coding error was limited to the county and only affected the judicial retention question.

Pole-wielding man charged with interfering with an election

Authorities have arrested a man accused of wielding a flag attached to a fishing pole as he made threatening gestures to voters and damaged a voting machine at a Kentucky polling location.

The 40-year-old Louisville man was charged with interfering with election and tampering and destruction of a voting machine. Both are felony counts under state law. He was also charged with two misdemeanor counts of menacing.

Erran Huber, a spokesperson for the Jefferson County Clerk’s Office, said no votes were compromised and voting continued at the polling location.

The man was taken to the Louisville Metro Department of Corrections for booking. A phone listing for him went straight to voicemail and did not accept messages Tuesday.

Mood is somber at polling places in Maine town where 18 were slain

Less than two weeks after 18 people were killed by a gunman in their small New England city, residents headed gingerly cast ballots Tuesday for a slate of municipal races in an election that took on a more subdued and somber tone after the tragedy.

The mood in Lewiston, Maine, was somber. Several shooting survivors remained hospitalized, flags flew at half-staff, and funerals were being held this week for those who died in the attack.

Citing civic duty and a quest to return the community to normal life, Lewiston residents turned out to vote in several high-profile referendums and local races.

“This is a necessity. We have to do this. So we can’t neglect it even though we’ve been through a terrible tragedy,” said James Scribner, 79, a retired teacher and Marine veteran, who was joined by his wife at local school that was transformed into a polling place.

Swifties to the polls!

Taylor Swift is encouraging her pack of Swifties to head to the polls on Election Day.

“Voters gonna vote!” Swift wrote in a post to her 275 million Instagram followers, riffing off the lyrics to her hit single “Shake It Off.”

In the post, she encouraged those registered to vote in Colorado, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia to “use your voice” and directed them to the nonpartisan voter advocacy group Vote.org for more information.

Vote.org says nearly 40,000 people registered to vote on their website after Swift mentioned the group on National Voter Registration Day in September.

“Taylor Swift is one of the busiest people in the world, but she always has time to stand up for democracy, use her own voice and encourage her fans and followers to use theirs,” Vote.org CEO Andrea Hailey said in a statement Tuesday.