On November 6, 2018, the United States held its 2018 Midterm Elections. Hundreds of races were contested for federal, state, and local offices. In addition, thousands of ballot measures were also voted upon. For months going into the midterms, the Democrat Party had been expecting a “blue wave” that would wrest control of Congress from the Republican Party in a repudiation of President Donald Trump. Did the Democratic dream of a blue wave come true? Let’s break down the results of the midterm elections and see.
On a federal level, the Democrats were looking to upset both the Republican controlled Senate and House of Representatives. Democrats needed two Senate seats to take back control of the Senate and twenty-four seats to take control of the House of Representatives. At the time of the writing of this article, Democrats secured a majority of five by gaining twenty-nine seats in the House, and Republicans secure their control of the Senate by gaining four seats. At the time of this writing, the results of fifteen house races and three senate races were still too close to call.
While the blue wave may seem underwhelming in Congress, on a state and local level, Democrats made substantial gains. Democrats gained in total three hundred and twenty-three legislative seats across the country. Democrats gained governorships in Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, New Mexico, and Nevada. In two popularized elections, Democrat Jared Polis defeated Republican Walker Stapleton to become the first openly gay governor in United States history. In Wisconsin, Democrat Tony Evers defeated Republican demagogue and incumbent Scott Walker. The former 2016 Republican presidential primary candidate came under fire for hard right positions, and his defeat was celebrated by many on the left.
The Democrats gained six state “trifectas”, in which one party holds the governorship, a majority in the state Senate, and a majority in the state House. Republicans lost four “trifectas”. Democrats also flipped six state legislatures to majority Democrat control. Republicans flipped one state legislature to majority Republican.
Many races captivated the attention of the public. Up and coming Democratic superstar Beto O’Rourke failed to unseat Republican Ted Cruz for a Texan Senate seat. “Democratic Socialist” Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez became famous overnight for dethroning Democrat incumbent Joe Crowley in the June New York House of Representatives Primary, but defeated Republican economics professor Anthony Pappas to become the youngest member of Congress in history. Medicare for All proponent Democrat Andrew Gillum was defeated by Republican Ron DeSantis in the Florida gubernatorial race. Controversial Democrat Bob Menendez, fresh off of a corruption trial, defeated CEO-turned Republican politician Bob Hugin for a Senate seat in The Stute’s home state of New Jersey. As of the time of writing, Democrat Stacey Abrams and Republican Brian Kemp are still duking it out over the governorship of Georgia, both of them a razor-thin margin away from victory, claiming that thousands of yet to be counted absentee ballots will propel them to victory.
At the end of the day, one of the most important takeaways from the 2018 midterm elections is that state elections matter. While national elections may be the ones that consume the news cycle, people like your town mayor, your board of education, your state attorney general, your county executive, all have a direct influence on your life.
Be First to Comment