Results of the Midterm Elections

The Midterms happened earlier this month, and after many tight races, results are finally being called. To those who don’t know, the midterms can shift who has the power in the congressional houses. 

Every representative in the House of Representatives is reelected every two years, and a third of the Senate is reelected every two years. Before the election, Democrats held the House and there was a split in the Senate, but with Kamala Harris, Democrats held the majority.

After multiple tight elections, currently the house is confirmed. The Republicans hold the majority, but with a small margin, 219-212 with four races yet to be decided. 

However, Democrats continue to hold a majority in the Senate, with a current 50 to 49 majority (final Senator to be decided in Georgia’s December runoff). Chuck Schumer will remain the majority leader. 

Before the election, a CNN interactive listed the six states to watch as Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Nevada. In the 2020 election Joe Biden flipped all of these states excluding Nevada, and all of these states are swing states. 

In Georgia, there was a very close Senate race between Democrat Raphael Warnock and Republican Herschel Walker.  Neither candidate got 50% of the vote, which means the election will go into a runoff. In states where a candidate must reach 50% to win, a second election is held between the two candidates with the most votes. The runoff will take place in December. 

In Pennsylvania, the senate race between Democrat John Fetterman and Republican Mehmet Oz (Dr. Oz) was expected to be close. Fetterman was the previous Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania, and Oz was a celebrity doctor with his own talk show. 

Nevada was home to a close race for a Senate seat as well. Incumbent Catherine Cortez Mastro defeated Adam Laxalt. The margin between the two was small, with Mastro receiving 48.8% of the vote and Laxalt receiving 48.1%. 

Closer to home, New Hampshire’s elections were predicted to be close. You’ve probably seen the political ads, the senate race was between Democrat Maggie Hassan and republican Don Bolduc. Hassan won with 53.6% of the vote. Two Democrats also hold the House seats. 

We are also seeing big changes in local government. A new governor was appointed, Maura Healey. She is the first openly gay elected governor candidate and first female governor for Massachusetts. She won with 63% of the vote. 

Kim Driscoll becomes the Lieutenant Governor with Maura Healey. The Boston Globe  reports that there has been no elected female governor and lieutenant governor at the same time in any other state. 

Andrea Campbell became the new Attorney General for Massachusetts as well, beating out republican candidate Jay McMahon. The Boston Globe reports Campbell is the first black woman to win a statewide election in Massachusetts history. 

Currently, Massachusetts is made up of nine Democrat held House seats and two Democrat held Senate seats.

In Florida, Maxwell Frost became the first Gen-Z member elected to US Congress. NPR stated: “The 25-year-old’s victory marks a pivotal moment for progressive activists who came of voting age over the last decade and found their political voice in response to divisive issues including gun violence.”

Karoline Leavitt was the only other Gen-Z member running. She ran for Representative in New Hampshire as a Republican, but was defeated by Democrat Chris Pappas.

The votes are still being counted, so keep being on the lookout for more results as races are called.

All poll results are from AP News.