This election was full of drama and emotion, and the result delivered a lot of the same, with incredible firsts and extremely close races.
One of the closest races that the country had its eye on was the Senate race in Texas between Beto O’Rourke (D) and Ted Cruz (R). Ted Cruz won by 2.7 percentage points, making it the closest race in Texas in the past 40 years. It also led to the highest voter turnout in Texas’s history.
Beto O’Rourke (left), Ted Cruz (right)
Another close race was for the governorship in Florida, Andrew Guillam(D) vs. Rob DeSantis(R), with a recount occurring as we speak. There is also a recount occurring for Florida Senate race between Bill Nelson (D) and Rick Scott (R).
One of the biggest facts to note from this election is that Congress will now be split with the Democrats controlling the House of Representatives and the Republicans controlling the Senate. This will lead to a lot of gridlock in the next two years, and potential trouble for the President, who has already had multiple investigations occurring before the elections.
Another incredible stat from the election is that there will be a record number of women in Congress next year: counting Senators who were not up for re-election and those who were elected during this midterm, there will be 118 women in Congress. That is an 11% increase from last year.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Here’s a list of other first’s from this year’s midterm elections:
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The youngest woman ever elected to Congress is just 29 years old. Her name is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and she is a Representative from New York. She beat out an incumbent Representative, which is an impressive feat on its own.
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Florida restored voting rights for 1.5 million people who had been convicted of felonies but completed their sentence.
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Ayanna Pressley will be the first African American woman representative from Massachusetts.
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Jared Polis was elected in Colorado as the country’s first openly gay man elected governor.
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Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib are the first Muslim women elected to Congress.
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Sharice Davids and Deb Haaland are the first Native American women elected to Congress.
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Representative Marsha Blackburn is Tennessee’s first female senator.
In Connecticut, the Governor’s race was won by Democrat Ned Lamont, who won by just about 2 percentage points.
Overall, it was a very eventful midterm season with, most importantly, impressive voter turnout across the country. Many states reported that they had a higher voter turnout in the 18-37 age range than they had ever seen before. Keep this energy going and stay involved in your local government. There are more ways than voting which can help you become represented in your government and get your voice heard.
Thank you to everyone who voted.