Were last nights election results a surprise? No. They were more remarkable than surprising. Anyone following the political spectrum over the past two years, or even two months, could tell you Republicans would win back seats in both the House and the Senate. Since 1900, the President's party has lost an average of 29 House seats and 3.4 Senate seats per midterm election, so turnover is nothing new. What is remarkable though is the way in which Republicans took control of the House and put a dent in the Senate deficit.
Not since 1938, under FDR (coincidence?), has there been such an overhaul of House seats in a single midterm election. As of now, the GOP has gained at least 60, with about 65 net gains projected by the time all the ballots are counted, which will give them the most Republican House members, (at least 239) since 1946.
And though the GOP was unable to reach majority in the Senate, they have so far picked up six seats and won some very significant and symbolic seats. The most symbolic was GOP Mark Kirk's victory over Alexi Giannoulias for Obama's old Senate seat in Illinois, and the most significant, I believe, was Pat Toomey's victory over Joe Sestak in Pennsylvania.
Mark Kirk's victory is symbolic for the same reason Scott Brown's victory of Ted Kennedy's old Senate seat was symbolic...irony.
Pat Toomey's victory shows a fundamental and ideological change in a state that had been blue, and this change seems to be pretty substantial. This is a state that had Democrats controlling both Senate seats, the governorship and a majority in its 19 House seats heading into last night. Now come January 11, the Senate seats will be split, there will be a Republican Governor, and the GOP will have the majority in House seats. This pattern isn't true to PA alone, this ideology has swept across the nation.
A few key trends that are interesting to note about last night also include; women had their lowest Democratic vote EVER, men had their highest Republican vote EVER, and those aged 65+ had their highest Republican vote EVER. The most telling of these trends is the women vote, who historically are more aligned left.
Some other interesting trends and developments that have arisen in this election season also include; the role the Tea Party played in the election and was it positive, negative, or mixed?; was the economy the main issue or was this tidal wave a rebuke of Obama's policies?; can ObamaCare be repealed or slimmed down?; how will the stock market react in the coming months to two years after this turnover?; and what does this election show about the overall makeup of the American population? But all of these questions will have to be answered in future writings. Thanks!
Mark Kirk's victory is symbolic for the same reason Scott Brown's victory of Ted Kennedy's old Senate seat was symbolic...irony.
Pat Toomey's victory shows a fundamental and ideological change in a state that had been blue, and this change seems to be pretty substantial. This is a state that had Democrats controlling both Senate seats, the governorship and a majority in its 19 House seats heading into last night. Now come January 11, the Senate seats will be split, there will be a Republican Governor, and the GOP will have the majority in House seats. This pattern isn't true to PA alone, this ideology has swept across the nation.
A few key trends that are interesting to note about last night also include; women had their lowest Democratic vote EVER, men had their highest Republican vote EVER, and those aged 65+ had their highest Republican vote EVER. The most telling of these trends is the women vote, who historically are more aligned left.
Some other interesting trends and developments that have arisen in this election season also include; the role the Tea Party played in the election and was it positive, negative, or mixed?; was the economy the main issue or was this tidal wave a rebuke of Obama's policies?; can ObamaCare be repealed or slimmed down?; how will the stock market react in the coming months to two years after this turnover?; and what does this election show about the overall makeup of the American population? But all of these questions will have to be answered in future writings. Thanks!
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