Issue 1 supporters celebrate as Rhiannon Carnes, executive director, Ohio Wome’s Alliance, speaks at a watch party, Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023, in Columbus Ohio. (AP Photo / Sue Ogrocki)

Abortion rights supporters won an Ohio ballot measure and the Democratic governor of beet-red Kentucky held onto his office by campaigning on reproductive rights and painting his opponent as extremist.

Jennifer and Tim Kohl poses for a photo in their front yard with the American flag and a thin blue line flag in Star, Idaho, on April 14, 2023. The couple recently moved to Idaho from the Los Angeles area. (AP Photo / Kyle Green)

Federalism — allowing each state to chart its own course within boundaries set by Congress and the Constitution — is at the core of the U.S. system. Now, some wonder whether that’s driving Americans apart.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Sen. Tammy Duckworth and other Democrats celebrate on April 12, 2023, after Chicago was chosen to host the 2024 Democratic National Convention. (WTTW News)

The victory was a coup for Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who urged national Democrats to pick Chicago, even though Illinois has not been a true swing state for more than a generation.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., grins as he emerges from the closed-door Senate Democratic Caucus leadership election at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 8, 2022. (AP Photo / J. Scott Applewhite)

Senate Democrats met behind closed doors at the Capitol to choose their leadership team for the new Congress that begins in January. The session was quick and upbeat, with no challengers. 

Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, waves to supporters after addressing an election night party in Pittsburgh, Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2022. (AP Photo / Gene J. Puskar)

Razor-thin margins around the country left control of Congress still undetermined Wednesday, but Democrats showed surprising strength in the midterm election, topping Republicans in a series of competitive races.

The chamber of the House of Representatives is seen at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, Feb. 28, 2022. (AP Photo / J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Democrats have held both chambers of Congress and the presidency for the last two years, but they may not have such consolidated power for much longer. A look at control of Congress and what will happen if Republicans win a majority in either chamber in the election. 

People protest following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in Washington, June 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

With the most intense period of campaigning only just beginning, Democrats have already invested more than an estimated $124 million this year in television advertising referencing abortion. That’s almost 20 times more than Democrats spent on abortion-related ads in the 2018 midterms.

The skyline of Milwaukee, along Lake Michigan, is pictured on Feb. 8, 2019. (AP Photo / Carrie Antlfinger, File)

Republicans on Friday unanimously chose Milwaukee in swing state Wisconsin to host the 2024 national convention, beating out Nashville in deep-red Tennessee.

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., departs as the Senate breaks for the Memorial Day recess, at the Capitol in Washington, May 26, 2022. (AP Photo / J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Sen. Joe Manchin, one of the Democrats’ most conservative and contrarian members, declined on Sunday to endorse Joe Biden if the president seeks a second term in 2024 and refused to say whether he wants Democrats to retain control of Congress after the November elections.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks to reporters at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, July 26, 2022. (AP Photo / J. Scott Applewhite, File)

The $739 billion package package would address health care and climate, raising taxes on high earners and large corporations and reducing federal debt. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer warned his colleagues in the 50-50 Senate that final passage will be hard.

Democratic National Committee Chair Jamie Harrison said the city picked to host the 2024 Democratic National Convention will offer a “turn-key” operation. (Heather Cherone / WTTW News)

Chicago is battling New York City, Atlanta and Houston for the right to celebrate the party’s nominees for president and vice president in August 2024, while showcasing the Democratic Party’s pitch to voters.

Betsy Johnson, Oregon’s non-affiliated gubernatorial candidate, poses in her campaign office in downtown Portland, Ore., on Friday, May 27, 2022. The former lawmaker will be in a three-way race for the governor’s seat in November. (AP Photo / Sara Cline)

The Republican and Democratic parties have dominated politics in America since the 1850s. These days, they’ve staked out sharply opposing positions on gun control, abortion rights, policing, climate change and much more, leaving a lot of middle-ground opportunities for independent and third-party candidates.

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger talks with supporters during an election night party on May 24, 2022, at a restaurant in Peachtree Corners, Ga. (AP Photo / Ben Gray, File)

An Associated Press analysis of early voting records from data firm L2 found that more than 37,000 people who voted in Georgia’s Democratic primary two years ago cast ballots in last week’s Republican primary, an unusually high number of so-called crossover voters. 

An image from the video released by the committee announcing Chicago's bid for the 2024 convention. (Credit: Chicago 2024)

A convention hosted in Chicago would “invite the nation to explore the Land of Lincoln and Obama,” Gov. JB Pritzker said. 

Darren Woods, CEO of ExxonMobil, testifies via video conference during a House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing on the role of fossil fuel companies in climate change, Oct. 28, 2021, with Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., at left, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo / Jacquelyn Martin, File)
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The hearing comes as President Joe Biden has ordered the release of 1 million barrels of oil per day from the nation’s strategic petroleum reserve for six months, a bid to control energy prices that have spiked after the United States and allies imposed steep sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. 

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks to reporters alongside, from left, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., during a press conference regarding the Democratic party's shift to focus on voting rights at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022. (AP Photo / Amanda Andrade-Rhoades)

Despite his late push, Biden has been unable to persuade two holdout Democrats, Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Joe Manchin of West Virginia, to change Senate rules so the party can overpower a Republican filibuster that is blocking the voting bill.