Election 2022: Now What?

The implications of the results of this midterm election are numerous. Former president Donald Trump endorsed several Republican candidates for Senate, the House of Representatives, and Governor across the United States (Ian Hutchinson/Unsplash).

This year’s midterm election was a historic one for many reasons. The expected referendum on the Democratic party was not nearly as large as was predicted. It was unlike any other midterm election to date.

Article by Lydia McFarlane, Junior White House Producer

WASHINGTON - The midterm elections were a large source of media attention for the past few months, especially after the overturning of Roe v. Wade over the summer and the poor state of the economy following the pandemic. Analysts debated which issue would prevail, abortion rights and women’s health or the economy. Because of inflation causing high prices from groceries to gas, American middle class families have been feeling the sting. However, young people across the nation were fired up about women’s rights issues as well as other topics that progressive candidates sided with.

While midterm elections are typically referendums on the parties in power, experts were unsure if this election would follow that same trend because of the momentous Dobbs decision from over the summer. Analysts were hesitant to predict a “red wave” or a Republican overhaul of power in the House and Senate, and they were correct to be. The results of these midterm elections are unlike those of the past. Where Democrats were expected to lose over thirty House seats to Republicans, they only lost 16. The results for all House races have not been called yet, but the Republican party is closer to the 218 needed to control the House than the Democrats are. However, the Democrats did not lose nearly as much ground as was expected for a typical midterm election.

The Senate results came as a surprise to many as well. While there are still a few races that are being counted, the Democrats and Republicans remain pretty much almost even in the Senate.

Pennsylvania’s Senate seat going to Democrat John Fetterman was a huge win for the Democrats, as they picked up what has historically been a Republican Senate seat.

Pennsylvania’s Senate race with Fetterman (D) vs. Dr. Mehmet Oz was one of the most closely watched elections besides Georgia, and the election was called in the favor of Fetterman much earlier than many expected.

By Georgia law, the Georgia Senate election will be going into a runoff election on December 6, with early voting opening up a few days after Thanksgiving. While incumbent Senator Raphael Warnock got the majority of votes, he did not get the plurality, or over 50% of the votes. Georgia law requires the winning candidate to get a plurality of the votes, so the runoff election will decide the official winner of Georgia’s Senate race between incumbent Raphael Warnock (D) and Hershel Walker (R).

The implications of the results of this midterm election are numerous. Former president Donald Trump endorsed several Republican candidates for Senate, the House of Representatives, and Governor across the United States. However, these candidates did not perform well, and many of them were unable to win their respective races. This shows a break in the Republican party away from Trump’s version of politics, and many Republicans are hopeful that these election results will move the Republican party back towards the middle and away from the far right. The election results also proved that reproductive issues proved more important than many thought they would be. The Democrats did much better than they were expected to fare, and young people came out in droves in support of Democratic candidates that supported a woman’s right to choose. The economy proved much less of a motivation for voters, which came as a shock given the state of the economy today.

Policy wise, the results will not have large implications on the rest of Biden’s presidency. While Republicans gained seats in the House, depending on the results of the last few races being counted as well as the Georgia runoff election, the Senate might still be 50/50, with the Democrats technically having the majority due to the Vice President being a Democrat. This would probably promote inaction, as the Republican majority House would probably pass legislation that would be shot down by the Democratic led Senate. The likelihood of this is possible given the remaining Senate races that need to be decided.

This year’s midterm election was a historic one for many reasons. The expected referendum on the Democratic party was not nearly as large as was predicted. It was unlike any other midterm election, in which the results are almost guaranteed to be in favor of the party opposing the one in power. Voters turned out in record numbers, and abortion proved to be much more important to these voters than previously thought.