The highly anticipated Midterm Elections were held on Tuesday, November 8th, 2022. Many political commentators expected Republicans to gain control of both the House and the Senate, but several key elections went to Democrats, preventing the Republicans from taking the Senate. As of November 16th, 2022 the Republicans are one seat away from claiming a House majority. There are eleven House races that have not been called yet, the Republicans currently hold 217 seats and need 218 for the majority. Democrats currently hold 207 seats in the house. Several House races in California are up in the air, as well as elections in Colorado and Maine. 

The popular prediction that Republicans would take control of the Senate proved to be inaccurate with the Democrats holding a 50-49 seat majority over the Republicans. Democratic Senator Catherine Matso secured Democrat control after defeating Republican Adam Laxalt.  One seat is yet to be determined as the race between Georgia candidates Republican Herschel Walker and Democrat Raphael Warnock requires a runoff election held on December 6th. If Herschel is elected in the runoff election the Senate will be evenly split 50-50 and the Vice President, Kamala Harris will be the tie-breaking vote if the Senate is split on an issue. 

There were several notable elections in this year’s Midterms. First, the highly contested and publicized Pennsylvania Senate Race between Democrat John Fetterman and Republican Mehmet Oz, more widely known as Dr. Oz in his popular TV show. Fetterman, who was previously Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania, has been criticized for his attempt to appeal to the working-class people of Pennsylvania but neglected to disclose the fact that he went to Harvard, has not held a job outside of politics, and was financially supported by his parents well into his thirties. In a pre-election debate, Fetterman, who had a stroke in May of 2022, struggled to answer questions throughout the debate. Pennsylvanians opted for Fetterman over Oz 51% to 46.5%. 

Another election that garnered much attention was the three elections held in the South Texas border counties of the Rio Grande Valley. The Valley as it is commonly known has been a consistent stronghold for Democrats for many years, but this year that changed. Monica De La Cruz, a single mother of two and small business owner became the first Republican to represent Texas’ 15th Congressional District ever. She is also the first South Texas Republican to serve a full term in Congress. De La Cruz received 80,869 votes compared to Vallejo’s 67,913. De La Cruz finished with 53.3% of the district’s votes. De La Cruz’s victory is a testament to the changing politics of the Hispanic community. The Democrats have assumed control over the Hispanic community for many years, but it seems that the control is slipping away as more and more Hispanics are choosing to vote Republican. 

The last notable race of the election was the Wisconsin Governors Race. Democrats Tony Evers, the incumbent faced off against Republican Tim Michels in a fierce race for Wisconsin, a state that tends to swing. Evers was able to secure the win over Michels after he secured the votes of the typically Conservative-leaning suburbs of Milwaukee. Evers won 1,368,664 votes or 51.2% of the total votes as compared to Michels’s 1,268,204 votes or 47.8% of the total votes. Evers was the Democrat’s only win in Wisconsin, however, as six Wisconsin Republicans were voted into the House compared to 2 Democrats. Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson also narrowly won the Wisconsin Senate seat over Mandela Barnes. Johnson won 50.5% of the votes over Barnes’ 49.5%.

The results of the Midterm Elections are indicative of a fierce future presidential election to come in 2024. With former President Trump announcing his intent to pursue a presidential nomination, the pressure is on for Democrats and Republicans to decide where the future of their party is headed.