The most notable race this year is for mayor of Buffalo. Democratic socialist India Walton shocked incumbent mayor Byron Brown in the Democratic primary earlier this year, but Brown is waging a write-in campaign (with tepid GOP support) and polls suggest that Brown is the favorite to hold on to his seat.

There are some neat ballot measures this year as well, such as Minneapolis considering a complete overhaul of its police department and St. Paul considering rent control. Local socialists and progressives such as Ilhan Omar and Keith Ellison are fighting for the police overhaul, but mainstream Democrats are backing the blue. Austin, TX, on the other hand, is considering a massive expansion of its police department. Socialists there are organizing to defeat that measure. Even the mainstream Democrats there oppose it.

Kshama Sawant is facing an Amazon and real estate industry-backed recall campaign in Seattle, and socialists there are organizing to keep her in office. Also in Seattle, there's a progressive candidate for mayor - Lorena Gonzalez - facing off against a business backed opponent. Gonzalez is bacaked by Bernie Sanders and Pramila Jayapal, but polls suggest it's not going to be enough, as she faces long but not insurmountable odds.

The race that will capture national attention tonight is the gubernatorial race in Virginia. While it might not be on the top of socialists' minds - the election is between two multi-millionare businessmen - it will be portentious of the 2022 midterms. The GOP has had a rotten string of luck in Virginia, losing 12 consecutive races there over the past decade. The last time the GOP captured a statewide office in VA was 2009. But the polls there have tightened significantly over the last few weeks, with GOP nominee Glenn Youngkin holding a 1-point advantage over Democratic nominee and former governor Terry McAuliffe. Youngkin's campaign has largely focused on scaremongering about critical race theory, while McAuliffe has responded by repeatedly calling his opponent Glenn Trumpkin. Seems like a real battle of the minds. I imagine if Youngkin wins that will be the GOP strategy going into 2022. And if McAuliffe wins, he'll likely consider a presidential campaign in 2024 or 2028.

Either way, while it might not be a big election year like 2020, there are still plenty of races that socialists and progressives are contesting. Best of luck to them.