On Nov. 6, Americans across the country cast their ballots. With a record breaking amount of money spent in the midterms and an unusually high voter turnout, this election shaped up to be one of the biggest and potentially most important midterms in recent history.

Overview:

The results weren’t a surprise to those who had been following the polls and media coverage closely. The Democratic Party, as of the writing of this story, has won 222 seats in the House of Representatives. The Republican Party (GOP) has maintained 196 seats, with 17 still undeclared. This means that the Democrats regained control of the House for the first time in eight years. Young Democrats Co-President Blaize-Nicholas Peebles was for the most part pleased with the results.

“I’m not mad with this election at all,” Peebles said. “It wasn’t completely the “blue wave” we were hoping for, but the Democrats took the House of Representatives so I can’t complain! It will be interesting to see the future of America with a Democratic House and Republican Senate.”

The GOP didn’t walk away from Tuesday in defeat. The GOP not only maintained the Senate, but looks to expand their majority with 51 called seats and three likely to go in their favor. Young Republicans President Erika Rodgers celebrates the victories.

“I’m extremely glad that Claire [McCaskill] got out of office,” Rogers said. “I’m glad that Ann Wagner won, I did phone calls for her. Everyone I did work for, won, so I feel like we made some impact.”

State Elections:

In the statewide race between incumbent Senator Claire McCaskill (D) and Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley (R), Hawley ended up being the victor with 1,245,732 votes (51.435%) compared to McCaskill’s 1,101,377 votes. There were also several statewide amendments and propositions on the ballot:

• Amendment 1: Deals with Redistricting and Ethics Reform, PASSED
• Amendment 2: Legalize medical marijuana with money going to veterans groups, PASSED
• Amendment 3: Legalize medical marijuana with money going to healthcare research, FAILED
• Amendment 4: Deals with bingo advertising, PASSED

• Proposition B: Minimum wage increase to $12.00 per/hour, PASSED
• Proposition C: Legalized medical marijuana, FAILED
• Proposition D: Increased the vehicular gas tax by $0.10 per/gallon, FAILED

Local Elections:

In the two Congressional Districts that mostly impact FHN, Districts 2 and 3, incumbent Representative Ann Wagner (R) beat Cort VanOstran (D), and in District 3, incumbent Representative Blaine Luetkemeyer (R) beat Katy Geppert (D).