By Joe Kefauver

WASHINGTON – Coming out of the 2014 elections, Republicans won by historical margins at the state level, with 31 Republican governors winning control of 67 of the 98 state legislative chambers. On Tuesday, November 3, Republicans not only defended those advances, but also added to that margin by winning decisively in Kentucky.

At the same time, Democrats swept mayoral races in the largest metro areas across the country, most notably Charlotte (NC), Columbus (OH), San Francisco (CA), Orlando (FL) and Philadelphia (PA), and also gained the mayor’s office in Indianapolis (IN). The result for business community is more of the same: the D.C.-partisan gridlock will continue to creep into state capitols and city halls across the country, and employers will have to continue to continue to defend their employment practices in city after city.

Here is a summary of the major developments following Tuesday’s elections:

Kentucky
In Kentucky, Republican gubernatorial candidate Matt Bevin won decisively after trailing Democrat Attorney General Jack Conway in almost every poll leading up to Election Day. Bevin struggled as a candidate, but at the end of the day his party affiliation seemed to matter more than his candidacy, and that momentum continued down the ticket with Republicans taking every statewide office, except two.

Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes, the incumbent secretary of state, who earned statewide recognition when she ran against long-time Republican Senator Mitch McConnell (ironically, so did Governor-elect Bevin), survived, and Democrat Andy Beshear, the son of former Gov. Steve Breshear, pulled off a victory for attorney general (AG). That race may go to a recount. Expect the Kentucky State Capitol to be mess as a result of Tuesday’s vote. Split party control of the AG post and the governor’s office in the past has resulted in investigation after investigation, and Democrats also control the House in Kentucky and will thwart the new governor at every turn.

Mississippi
Election Day was a non-event in Mississippi. Incumbents won across the board. Notably, Republican Phil Bryant strolled to reelection in the governor’s race, as did Democrat Jim Hood in the attorney general race. The state-of-play in Mississippi will remain the same.

Virginia
Governor Terry McAuliffe, former Democratic National Committee chairman, called in a lot of favors and raised a lot of national money in an attempt to win a majority in the Virginia Senate, and he failed. Republicans retained their narrow majority, which they will use to stifle McAuliffe’s agenda. Virginia has become a presidential battleground in the past few cycles, and McAuliffe had hoped to use his newly minted majority not only to drive his political priorities, but also set the stage for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. Expect the legislature and the governor to be at odds after the bruising contest.

Mayors
Over 300 cities held mayoral elections on Tuesday. As Democrats lose control of statehouses, major metros have become more and more important to the party as incubators for talent and progressive policy initiatives. Many of the elections occurred in presidential battleground states, providing Democratic footholds in key districts ahead of the 2016 elections, and in many of these jurisdictions in the business community, they will have to continue to play defense.

Ballot Initiatives
Ballot initiatives provided some of the more interesting results. Minimum wage advocates suffered some surprising defeats at the ballot box. Voters in Tacoma (WA) and Portland (ME) decided not to follow Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles and rejected a $15 minimum wage increase. McCall (ID) also rejected a more modest increase to $10.25. Advocates will redouble efforts in 2016, but the business community may have discovered a path to defeat this measure. Also of note, retailers hoping to sell marijuana in Ohio will have to wait; the constitutional amendment to legalize marijuana was overwhelmingly rejected by state residents.

• Tacoma (WA) - Initiative 1 and Initiative 1B: Minimum Wage
  In a complicated ballot question, Tacoma voters overwhelmingly supported an increase to $12 an hour, canceling out a $15 an hour initiative that also appeared on the ballot.
• Portland (ME) - Question 1: Minimum Wage
  In a stunning defeat, the $15 an hour proposal failed 57% to 43% in a city that prides itself on being progressive.
• McCall (ID) - Initiative Related to the Minimum Wage
  Voters in McCall (ID) rejected a minimum wage increase to $10.25. The vote in the small resort town was significant in that a win would have encouraged other communities to follow suit.
• Ohio – Issue 3: Legalizing Marijuana
  Ohioans voted overwhelmingly to reject the legalization of marijuana by a nearly 2-to-1 margin. The issue may come up again, but with such a wide margin, it’s unlikely to pass anytime soon.

Joe Kefauver is the managing partner of Align Public Strategies, a full-service public affairs and creative firm that helps corporate brands, governments and nonprofits with internal decision-making. For more information, go to AlignPublicStrategies.com?.