2022 Midterm Elections

Kailani Smile, Online Editor

   Halfway through the president’s second term, many politicians begin their campaign for the midterm elections. 

   This year’s elections were significant for both the Democratic and Republican parties. Major topics that have been kept in the spotlight have been the race for the Senate and the House. As of Monday, November 14, 2022; there are 212 House seats for the Republicans and 204 House seats for the Democrats according to CNN politics’ Midterm election results. 

   Regarding the Senate, Democrats have recently won Nevada with the representatives being Cathrine Cortez Masto, and Arizona’s Mark Kelly, which puts the race at 50 Senate seats for the Democratic Party and 49 Senate seats for Republicans. The last state that confirms which party controls the Senate will be Georgia. There will be a run-off election that will take place in December between Raphael Warnock (D) and Herschel Walker (R). A key point within the race in Georgia is if Herschel Walker (R) does win, the tie-breaker will be decided by the vice president, Kamala Harris. 

   Big wins for the Republicans in this election would be Ron DeSantis, Governor of Florida; Lauren Bobert, U.S. Representative; Brian Kemp, Governor of Georgia; and many more. On the Democratic side, John Fetterman, Senator of Pennsylvania; Maxwell Alejandro Frost, 25, Congress’ first Gen Z member; and both representatives from Nevada and Arizona. 

   An unexpected impact that was made during the 2022 midterm election was the Gen Z voter turnout. According to the Washington Post, one in eight voters was below the age of 30 and over half of those voters aligned with Democrats more. With this turnout, the predicted “Red Wave” fizzled out. 

   Currently, the House is still running its election, but the results are leaning more toward the Republican party. The Senate results will be announced after the run-off in Georgia, so U.S. voters will have to wait until December.