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Orthodox Rabbi Blames Gay Parents For Shooting By William Davis How HIV Is Transmitted By William Jacobs
First Lesbian IVF Procedure Baby By Michelle Stevenson
Alan Turing Might Be The Face Of UK’s New £50 Note By Jennifer Davis RuPaul Announces ‘Holi-Slay Spectacular’ By Michael Jones
Anti-Transgender Harms U.S. Economy By David Vandygriff
Barbara Streisand Releases Pro-LGBT Anthem By Jill Davidson
Virgin Launches First Fully LGBT-Staffed Flight By David Vandygriff
2018 Midterm Election Results By David Vandygriff
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Orthodox Rabbi Blames Gay Parents For Shooting By William Davis
An Orthodox Rabbi has said that gay people caused the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting which killed 11, adding: “I’m not sorry for this disaster.”
massacre in Orlando, Florida, in 2016. He referred to the 49 people killed in the attack as “those sinners, trash… that were killed New Jersey Rabbi Mordechai in a massacre in a club. The Aderet told his followers not to club was a club for men to go to a vigil for those murdered men.” “That’s the same people last Saturday (October 27) that invited the people two because it reportedly took years ago to say Tehillim for place during a circumcision those lowlives,” said the rabbi. ceremony for the twins of two Aderet, who JaxGay.com gay dads. understands has not attended In a Facebook video which has the synagogue listed on his been viewed more than 10,000 website, New Jersey’s times since it was posted to Congregation Ahavath Torah, Facebook on Sunday (October in the past year, continued: “All 28), Aderet said that anyone those people who go tonight, who attended the interfaith you protest against Hashem memorial was “spitting in (God). Hashem’s (God’s) face.” “This is not Tehillim, this is The rabbi also said that people spitting in Hashem’s face. And shouldn’t go to pay their you like it or you don’t like it, respects because the Tree of that’s the emet (truth).” He Life Congregation, where the added: “Those people do not shooting happened, invited let Moshiach (the Messiah) other Jews to a vigil for the come. If you don’t go on the victims of the Pulse nightclub straight… thing, Hashem won’t
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bring the Moshiach.” The victims of the shooting, which was the worst antiSemitic attack in modern US history, included Dr Jerry Rabinowitz, who helped patients during the AIDS crisis. The doctor, who practiced family medicine a short drive from the synagogue, was praised after his death by one of his patients, Michael Kerr. In a Facebook post on Sunday (October 28), Kerr described Rabinowitz’s kind treatment of people with HIV during a time in which tens of thousands died and many were scared to touch sufferers, let alone care for them. Kerr said that “in the old days for HIV patients in Pittsburgh he was [the] one to go to.” “Basically before there was effective treatment for fighting HIV itself, he was known in the community for keeping us alive the longest.”
is less risky for getting HIV than receptive anal sex. Sharing By AIDS Healthcare Foundation—AHF needles or syringes, rinse water, or HIV transmission only other equipment (works) used happens through specific to prepare drugs for injection activities. Most commonly, with someone who has HIV. people get or transmit HIV through sexual behaviors and HIV can live in a used needle up to 42 days depending on needle or syringe use. temperature and other factors. Only certain body fluids— Less commonly, HIV may be blood, semen (cum), spread: pre-seminal fluid (pre-cum), rectal fluids, vaginal fluids, From mother to child during and breast milk—from a pregnancy, birth, or person who has HIV can breastfeeding. Although the transmit HIV. These fluids risk can be high if a mother is must come in contact with a living with HIV and not taking mucous membrane or medicine, recommendations damaged tissue or be directly to test all pregnant women for injected into the bloodstream HIV and start HIV treatment (from a needle or syringe) for immediately have lowered the transmission to occur. Mucous number of babies who are membranes are found inside born with HIV. the rectum, vagina, penis, and By being stuck with an HIVmouth. contaminated needle or other In the United States, HIV is sharp object. This is a risk spread mainly by: mainly for health care workers. Having anal or vaginal sex with someone who has HIV In extremely rare cases, HIV without using a condom or has been transmitted by taking medicines to prevent or Oral sex—putting the mouth treat HIV. on the penis (fellatio), vagina For the HIV-negative partner, (cunnilingus), or anus receptive anal sex (bottoming) (rimming). In general, there’s is the highest-risk sexual little to no risk of getting HIV behavior, but you can also get from oral sex. But HIV from insertive anal sex transmission of HIV, though (topping). extremely rare, is theoretically possible if an HIV-positive Either partner can get HIV through vaginal sex, though it man ejaculates in his partner’s mouth during oral sex. To 08 www.cityxtramagazine.com learn more about how to lower
How HIV Is Transmitted
your risk, see Oral Sex and HIV Risk.
Receiving blood transfusions, blood products, or organ/ tissue transplants that are contaminated with HIV. This was more common in the early years of HIV, but now the risk is extremely small because of rigorous testing of the US blood supply and donated organs and tissues. Eating food that has been pre-chewed by an HIVinfected person. The contamination occurs when infected blood from a caregiver’s mouth mixes with food while chewing. The only known cases are among infants. Being bitten by a person with HIV. Each of the very small number of documented cases has involved severe trauma with extensive tissue damage and the presence of blood. There is no risk of transmission if the skin is not broken. Contact between broken skin, wounds, or mucous membranes and HIVinfected blood or bloodcontaminated body fluids. Deep, open-mouth kissing if both partners have sores or bleeding gums and blood from the HIV-positive partner gets into the bloodstream of the HIV-negative partner. HIV is not spread through saliva.
every day, with livers, kidneys and lungs! Turns out the vagina provides a great First Lesbian IVF Procedure Baby environment. “The concept By Michelle Stevenson is not novel, Two married lesbians have but the difference is that the both carried the same baby eggs usually go into a Petri before birth, in what appears to dish. In this case, the magic be the first IVF pregnancy of happens in a body.” this kind. Ashleigh and Bliss Compared to a traditional IVF, Coulter, who live in Dallas, there is a risk of device Texas, used a revolutionary expulsion—though no-one has new procedure which involved reported losing it so far, Doody Bliss, 36, taking the embryo for said—and may be an five days while it fertilized, increased risk of an ‘abnormal before Ashleigh, 28, was embryo’ being transferred to impregnated with the embryo the uterus. But Doody said that and carried it to term. Their her process was “more natuson, Stetson Coulter, was born, ral,” as it allows both partners happy and healthy, in June. to actively participate and bond Dr. Kathy Doody, a fertility with their potential child. specialist at the CARE Fertility “Normally what happens is in Bedford, Texas, developed donor insemination, or they the INVOcell, a device which would both try to get pregnant made this unprecedented feat with the same donor sperm, but possible, alongside her husthis allows them to both be part band and fellow doctor Kevin of it. This is something a heterDoody and Canadian scientist osexual couple can’t share. I Jason Broome. She explained do think this is special. I’m that the INVOcell is a container excited.” “the size of a champagne cork, made of polystyrene” that can And it’s not just revolutionary; it’s considerably cheaper than be filled with sperm and an the usual alternatives. egg, and inserted into the vagina, which has the perfect “Traditional reciprocal effortless conditions for fertilization. IVF is usually $15,000 to “A laboratory provides a static $20,000. Ours is approximately $8,000,” Doody said. “Our goal set temperature and atmosphere, with the right PH was to make IVF more and carbon dioxide levels,” said affordable—to make it half the Doody, who has been practic- cost, because the biggest impediment to IVF is cost and ing for 29 years. “But humans geographic inaccessibility. “In do that all the time, naturally, the US, many couples who 12 www.cityxtramagazine.com
want to have children and go through IVF can’t. In Texas, 15 to 20 percent of couples have IVF coverage. Texas is a huge state, so what if you don’t live nearby, and what if you don’t live in a state with an IVF clinic? “This will increase couples’ chances of creating families, and that’s the backbone of what we do.” Since Stetson’s birth, another lesbian couple, who live in north Texas, has also successfully used the device, giving birth to a healthy baby in September. Doody said there was no reason why this kind of pregnancy couldn’t soon become commonplace across the globe. “Go forward five years from now and the INVOcell concept will be much more widespread,” she predicted. “Clinics have come from all over the US—including Hawaii—and Hong Kong to learn from us. “My husband has travelled to Nigeria, Uganda and Kenya to teach people about the device. There’s potential for it to spread worldwide in the next few years. “Women feel that it’s more natural according to the feedback I’ve received, and the decrease in cost is a real positive.”
Enigma codes during World War II, was chemically castrated after being Alan Turing Might Be The Face convicted in Of UK’s New £50 Note 1952 of “gross By Jennifer Davis indecency” British scientist Alan Turing, with another man. who was instrumental in Turing was officially pardoned breaking the Nazi codes during by Queen Elizabeth II under World War II, is a frontrunner to the little-known Royal be the face of a redesigned Prerogative of Mercy in 2013. £50 note issued by the Bank of London’s Evening Standard England. He would replace newspaper editorialized that, inventor James Watt. “Lovelace and Turing are two BoE Governor Mark Carney great Britons. It’s time we announced a public contest to literally put our money where replace Watts with another our mouths are and recognize important figure from the world at least one of them on our new of science. Turing has banknote.” considerable support. “[Turing’s] work at Bletchley Turing, widely considered to be Park, which led to the cracking the father of computer science of the Nazi Enigma code, is and artificial intelligence and widely regarded to have ended most famous for his work on the Second World War early breaking the German and saved millions of lives,” the
paper continued. “Not only was he not recognized in his lifetime; he was convicted of homosexuality by the country he helped to rescue, chemically castrated and committed suicide.” In 2015, a handwritten notebook by the code-breaking genius, who was the subject of the 2014 Oscar-winning film The Imitation Game, brought more than $1 million at auction.
STD & Oral HIV Testing Every Second Tuesday of Each Month By The AIDS Healthcare Foundation
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Miller, Shangela, Sonique, and Trixie Mattel as they compete for the title of America’s first “Drag Race RuPaul Announces Xmas Queen.” ‘Holi-Slay Spectacular’ VH1 promises By Michael Jones “jaw-dropping surprises, eye-popping It’s beginning to look a lot like fashions, and epic Christmas. performances,” and we expect OK, it might be a little early for no less. eggnog and mistletoe, but “Nothing says Christmas like World of Wonder and VH1 ‘Chestnuts roasting on an open already have a gift picked out fire, and drag queens slipping for you: RuPaul‘s Drag Race on their pantyhose,” said will air a one-hour “Holi-slay three-time Emmy Spectacular”. Award-winning host RuPaul. The special episode will feature And for some more seasonal familiar faces like Eureka cheer — both season 11 of O’Hara, Jasmine Masters, Kim RuPaul’s Drag Race and Chi, Latrice Royale, Mayhem season 4 of All Stars are also
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on their way, so get ready for gaggery at every turn. RuPaul’s Drag Race Holi-slay Spectacular premieres Friday, Dec. 7 at 8:00 p.m. ET on VH1. Visit VH1.com for information on airings in your area. Happy Holidays from our family to yours.
among the signatories. Major employers including American Anti-Transgender Harms U.S. Economy Airlines, the By Drew Williams Dow Chemical Company, Levi’s 56 companies including Lush, MGM Resorts Facebook and Coca-Cola International, Nike and Pepsi have come out against the also signed on. From the Trump administration’s finance world, Citi, Clifford reported plan to roll back Chance, Deutsche Bank, transgender rights. The HSBC and JPMorgan are companies, which include the represented. biggest employers in the US, Airbnb, Apple, Google, on Thursday signed the Facebook, Lyft, IBM, Intel, Business Statement for Microsoft, Twitter and Uber Transgender Equality, are among the tech giants to opposing an alleged plan to have signed the statement, define gender as fixed which makes clear that “we biological sex at birth, as oppose any administrative reported by The New York Times last month. This would and legislative efforts to erase effectively erase transgender transgender protections through reinterpretation of people. The 56 companies existing laws and represent nearly 4.8 million regulations.” employees and have a collective annual revenue of The statement concludes with more than $2.4 trillion. a call “for respect and The statement warns that a shift in government stance would have a large impact on businesses in the US, which, in turn, “harms transgender people [and] harms our companies.” It adds that “diversity and inclusion are good for business, and discrimination imposes enormous productivity costs.” The Coca-Cola Company, the manufacturer of the president’s favorite drink, is 18 www.cityxtramagazine.com
transparency in policymaking, and for equality under the law for transgender people.” The effort was organized by 14 LGBT+ community organizations, led by Out Leadership and the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). Elizabeth Wood of Levi Strauss & Co. said: “Equality is not a right for some, but for all. Executive actions and laws that allow discrimination erode our ability to foster vibrant, competitive workforces, which halts growth, creativity, and innovation. “Our workplaces and communities must be diverse and welcoming for all people, regardless of race, sex, national origin, ethnicity, religion, age, disability, sexual orientation or gender identity.” Tia Silas of IBM said: “Treating all people fairly, equally and with respect is the very core of IBM’s values. We believe no one should be
Discriminated against for being who they are. “That’s why we’re proud to stand in support of the transgender and entire LGBT+ communities, and it’s why we will continue advocating for Congress to pass the Equality Act and ensure transgender individuals are treated equally under the law.” The president has personally defended the policy. Asked about the plan on October 22, Trump responded: “We’re looking at it. We have a lot of different concepts right now. “They have a lot of different things happening with respect to transgender right now. You know that as well as I do and we’re looking at it very seriously.” Asked if he would protect the LGBT+ community, he responded: “I’m protecting everybody.” When a reporter told the leader that “transgender Americans say you’ve given up on them,” Trump replied: “You know what I’m doing? I’m protecting everybody. I want to protect our country.” The reports of Trump’s anti-trans policy proposal has been met with legal threats from both the American Civil Liberties Union and LGBT+ civil rights organization Lambda Legal, who have vowed to launch immediate action against the Trump administration if the policy is ever enacted.
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wrong. I believe different shouldn’t be judged by any other kind of meter.” Barbara Streisand Releases She added: Pro-LGBT Anthem “Statistically, By Jill Davidson in terms of genome studies, people have Barbra Streisand has dropped 99.9 percent of the same an LGBT anthem, in a not-so- genetics. We are alike. We all guarded F.U. to President want peace and happiness and Trump. The legendary gay icon family and love and released her thirty-sixth studio understanding.” album, Walls, on November 2. The title of the record is a direct The track’s lyrics include: reference to the Trump admin- “Love’s always right/Love always knows the way/When istration’s border wall policy, and many of the tracks bear an some are just too blind to see the light/ You know what’s true/ overtly-political nature. Be true to you/Be proud, be One of the album tracks, strong/‘Cause love’s never “Love’s Never Wrong,” is a wrong.” pro-LGBT anthem that seeks to Maclean’s noted that the push back against hateful release comes after an October rhetoric. 21 report that the Trump Speaking to Canadian outlet administration is drawing up Maclean’s, Streisand confirmed regressive new regulations that the meaning behind the track. would define gender as a She said: “He’s trying to divide person’s fixed biological sex at our nation and the world. That’s birth, effectively banning what’s so scary. Diversity is recognition of transgender proven to be our strength. “To people. say people are how they are The US Justice Department because of how they were under Jeff Sessions has also born—it’s that thinking that is
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reversed work on LGBT+ civil rights protections launched under the Obama administration, filing court cases supporting the ‘freedom to discriminate’ against same-sex couples. Streisand, 76, has been a beloved gay icon for decades. The Funny Girl star has a gay son, Jason Gould. The musical star campaigned alongside Hillary Clinton in 2016, headlining LGBT+ fundraisers and even performing a re-purposed cover of Broadway anthem “Send in the Clowns” taking aim at Trump. Streisand is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with more than 68.5 million albums in the US and a total of 150 million albums and singles sold worldwide.
Virgin Launches Fully LGBT-Staffed Flight By David Vandygriff
The world’s first known flight fully staffed by LGBT+ people is due for take off from London Heathrow Airport in June 2019.
on-board DJ, drag queen bingo, a Judy Garland singalong and inter-seat speed dating.
The LGBT+ pilots and cabin crew will head the one-off ‘Pride Flight’ to New York, which is the first American city to host the World Pride event next year, on June 28—the day marking 50 years since the beginning of the Stonewall riots. Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Holidays teamed up with NYC & Company, New York City’s official marketing, tourism and partnership organization, to bring the Pride celebrations to 38,000 feet above the ground. They have enlisted Broadway actor and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt star Tituss Burgess to be the master of ceremonies during the flight, which promises to feature on-board entertainment including an
“At a time when we’re seeing the rights of minority groups under threat, it is more important than ever we stand up and make our voices heard,” Burgess said. “The LGBT+ community has made enormous strides over the last 50 years, and I’m so proud to partner with Virgin Holidays and Virgin Atlantic to mark this occasion in style and celebrate the hard-won freedoms from those who came before us,” he said. Fred Dixon, president and chief executive of NYC & Company, said the World Pride event is expected to attract more than three million visitors to the Big Apple in 2019, and promises to be “one of the largest LGBTQ events in history.” “As a City founded on diversity, inclusivity and a welcoming spirit, we’re extremely pleased to host World Pride 2019—the first time the big event will be held in the United States, while at the same time marking the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising,” he added. Ticket prices start at $433 for
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the flight-only Economy Light experience, but holiday packages including accommodation at a New York hotel start at $796 per person. Virgin will donate a portion of ticket sales to The Attitude Magazine Foundation to promote community initiatives in the UK, as well as arrange fundraising and raffle activities on board. “We take our commitments to diversity and inclusion seriously, but you can rest assured we have a lot of fun along the way,” said Mark Anderson, global LGBT lead for Virgin Group and executive vice president at Virgin Atlantic, promising “a show-stopping, ground- breaking, one-of-a-kind experience.” Virgin is the latest company announcing special initiatives for the half-century anniversary of the 1969 riots that gave birth to the gay rights movement. In September, American baseball team the New York Yankees revealed plans to spend $50,000 on scholarships, which will act “as a springboard for young LGBTQ student community members,” to mark the occasion.
Dozens and dozens of Democratic female candidates jumped into races across the country. 2018 Midterm Election Results Democrats By David Vandygriff tailored much of their The votes are cast -- and, messaging on health care, on mostly, counted. taxes, on everything to female voters -- especially in the In one of the most highly anticipated midterm elections in suburbs. That was clearly the modern political history, things right bet. Women made up went, largely, as polls predicted 52% of the overall electorate, they would. Democrats cleaned according to preliminary exit polls, and they went for up in the suburbs, using a Democratic candidates over massive gender gap among Republicans by 20. According women to retake the majority to the Cook Political Report's they lost in 2010. In the Dave Wasserman, there will Senate, geography was now be more than 100 women destiny; the map was heavily in the House in 2019 for the tilted toward Republicanfriendly states where President first time in history. Donald Trump remained If you are looking forward to popular -- and the GOP scored 2020, the results from Tuesday a series of wins in those states. night suggest that a female The governors races produced candidate running to be the a split decision; Democrats Democratic nominee against won in Michigan, Illinois and, President Donald Trump may somewhat surprisingly, well have a major advantage. Kansas; Republicans, however, 2. A Trump referendum won the two big prizes on the In the closing days of the map in Florida and Ohio. campaign, Trump went back We're still sifting through the and forth on whether or not this data and there are a number of election was a referendum on races that are still uncalled. But his first two years in office. At we know a lot. And here are my times, he acknowledged that it big takeaways from another was, telling roaring audiences amazing night in American that a vote for [fill in the blank democracy: Republican candidate] was 1. The year of the woman ffectively a vote for him. At others, Trump sought to note House Democrats placed a that his name wasn't on the MASSIVE bet on women in their plan to retake the majority. ballot -- and that he couldn't be held responsible for whatever 24 www.cityxtramagazine.com
happened to Republicans. The early exit polling suggests that two-thirds of voters said that their vote on Tuesday was about Trump, with more saying they came to vote to show opposition rather than support for the President; nearly 4 in 10 voters said that their vote was meant as a sign of opposition to Trump. That, by the way, is not unique to Trump. Midterm elections are almost always referendums on the president and his party. And they are almost always negative referendums. (Americans like divided government.) It's why the president's party has not lost House seats in only three midterms since the Civil War. (What years were those? 1934, 1998 and 2002.) The split decisions -Democrats win the House majority, Republicans keep control of the Senate -- is fitting in an election about Trump, the single most polarizing President in modern politics. Trump allies will insist that without him, Republicans would have lost the Senate and the House. Trump detractors -including some Republicans -will argue that Trump cost them any chance at keeping control of the House. 3. Mitch McConnell is still the smartest guy in Senate politics For a time over the summer, there was talk that Democrats could win the Senate. McConnell never panicked, kept Trump on board and delivered the goods -- again --
on Tuesday night. Wins in Florida, Indiana, North Dakota, coupled with Republicans holding their own endangered seats in Tennessee and Texas, not only kept the Senate in GOP hands but expanded the party's majority -- giving them some wiggle room on tough votes over the next two years. This was a map -- 26 Democratic seats up as compared to nine for Republicans -- that Republicans should have capitalized on. And while they didn't run the table -- Joe Manchin in West Virginia, for one, won -- they picked up seats in a national environment that clearly favored Democrats. That looked unlikely as recently as a month ago. 4. Sherrod Brown is someone Democrats should listen to more The Ohio Democratic Senator cruised to a third term on Tuesday night against a credible opponent -- Rep. Jim Renacci (R) -- in a state that Trump won by eight points two years ago. That won't get all that much attention -- no one on either side thought Brown would lose -- but it should, as the party turns to 2020. Remember that Trump is President because of 80,000 votes in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. The Midwest is, literally, where he built his path to the White House -and where he will look again in 2020. "Let our country -- our nation's citizens, our Democratic Party, my fellow elected officials all
over the country -- let them all cast their eyes toward the heartland, to the industrial Midwest, to our Great Lakes state," Brown said in his victory speech. "And we will show America how we celebrate organized labor and all workers - the waitress in Dayton, the office worker in Toledo, the nurse in Columbus, the mineworker in Coshocton. That is the message coming out of Ohio in 2018, and that is the blueprint for our nation in 2020." He's right. And what Brown proved on Tuesday night is that a Midwestern liberal populist can win -- and win easily in what will be the key battleground in 2020. If you're looking for a dark horse in the 2020 Democratic field, you could do a lot worse than Brown.
herself as a liberal warrior for women in the Senate and as someone, being from New York, who knows how to stand toe-to-toe with the current President. I'd be very surprised if either of them DON'T run for president at this point. 6. All of Democrats' BIG national rising stars got wiped out Quick, name the three Democrats running for statewide office that Democrats 5. The 2020 race started who didn't live in their states tonight knew and/or cared about: Speaking of 2020 and Brown, ndrew Gillum, Stacey Abrams the easy reelections of Sen. and Beto O'Rourke, right? Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Well, Gillum lost narrowly. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) Abrams is losing less narrowly. will almost certainly serve as And O'Rourke overperformed springboards for 2020 past Democrats in Texas but presidential bids. Klobuchar still lost. had more than $5 million in the That knocks out the three bank as of mid-October while biggest potential stars coming Gillibrand had $10.6 million. All out of this election for of that money could be ported Democrats. Yes, Alexandria directly over to a presidential Ocasio Cortez won -- but we all bid. knew she was going to after Klobuchar will likely position she beat Joe Crowley in a herself as someone, like primary in an overwhelmingly Brown, who has demonstrated Democratic district in New York an ability to run and win in the City. Midwest, with a coalition that Politics abhors a vacuum, so goes beyond just Democrats. other rising star Democrats will Gillibrand is likely to cast fill the void left by the losses of
Gillum, Abrams and O'Rourke. (And keep an eye on O'Rourke. I could see him trying to use his narrow-ish defeat as a way to run for president in 2020.) I'd watch Gretchen Whitmer, who got elected governor in Michigan, Jared Polis, the first openly gay governor in the country (he's from Colorado) and the new governor of New Mexico, Michelle Lujan Grisham. 7. Republicans won the biggest governor's races in the country. If you asked Democrats going into Tuesday night which governor race they wanted to win the most, they'd likely name Florida first and then Ohio. They won neither. And there's meaning well beyond simply losing at the gubernatorial level. Both are swing states -- maybe the two swingiest states -- going into the 2020 presidential election, and it's always better to have a governor's political machine working for you rather than against you in a swing state. And Republicans will have the upper hand in redistricting in 2021 in that trio of states -which matters a whole hell of a lot. 26 www.cityxtramagazine.com