6 Things To Know About The Midterm Election

The United States political landscape is rapidly changing. Here are some of the six important outcomes of yesterday’s elections.

Picture by Arturo Mora.

1. Texas remained Republican-tilting, and there is a reason why.

The next governor of Texas will be Republican Greg Abbott. According to the Office of the Secretary of the State of Texas, nationally known Democrat Wendy Davis received 38.9 percent of votes statewide.

In a report from Vox, Mark Jones, a political scientist from Rice University, said more Republicans vote in Texas than Democrats. The Texas Tribune attributed part of her defeat on her tactics and messages. Greg Abbott and the majority of Republican candidates won more than 50 percent of votes in Texas. Although Texas is predicted to become a Democratic state in the future, it does not seem like it will happen anytime soon.

2. Minorities did well nationwide. 

Various minority groups, no matter which political party, faired well in the midterm election.

For the first time ever, there are 100 women in the United States Congress. The Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University website stated that the majority of female congresswomen are Democrats. Alma Adams, D-N.C., became the 100th female member of Congress when she won District 12 in North Carolina.

South Carolina’s Tim Scott, R-S.C., is the first African American senator to be elected from a Southern state since the 1800s and the first African American to be elected to both chambers of Congress. Scott won with 61.2 percent of the state’s votes.

Greg Abbotts’ victory is also a victory for the disabled. Abbott has been in a wheelchair since he was 26 years old.

3. Voter turnout numbers were  low. 

In Lubbock County, only 47,933 of 157,273 registered voters participated in the primary election, according to the Lubbock County Election Office.

4. An amendment passed in Texas. 

Proposition One passed in Texas. This proposition will give funding from the oil and gas production tax collection to the State Highway Fund.

This money will help fund road projects in the state.

Picture by Arturo Mora.

5. Incumbents did well in Texas, unlike in other states. 

In Lubbock County, any incumbent who ran for office was re-elected, including District 19 Congressman Randy Neugebauer, R-Texas, and Senator John Cornyn, R-Texas.

However, incumbents did not do as well in other parts of the country. The House of Representatives lost 12 incumbent politicians, and the Senate lost three. Two governors seeking re-election also lost their respective races. It was not really an anti-incumbent wave; the electorate was tougher on the Democrats — even in some of the generally Democratic-leaning states.

6. What the Republican sweep means for government. 

Now that Republicans control the legislative branch of government, what does that mean?

Let’s go back to political science. The legislative branch, which is made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate, introduces bills. Before, the House and Senate were divided — with a Democratic Senate and a Republican House. Both chambers are now Republican. President Barack Obama — who leads the executive branch — approves or vetoes bills. If Congress disagrees with the president’s decision, it can approve a bill if both chambers receive a two-thirds vote in favor.

President Obama and incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) are vowing they will try to end the political gridlock and divide. Here’s to hoping.

Thanks to the separation of powers, it is hard to say what the conservative Congress will accomplish.

To see how Lubbock County voted, visit our election result post.

 One last note..

Who thinks having a Cosmopolitan magazine-sponsored party bus and male models would have encouraged more Texas Tech University students to vote?