The Democratic party and the independents they caucus with (which means they vote for similar policies) clinched control of the Senate. John Fetterman, Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor, flipped the state’s Republican seat by defeating television personality Dr. Mehmet Oz. Additionally, there is still an uncalled race in Georgia. Since neither incumbent (which is the individual who currently controls the seat) Senator Raphael Warnock or Republican challenger Herschel Walker, a retired football player, won more than the fifty percent threshold required in Georgia, the race will be going to a runoff election in December. Regardless of Warnock’s victory, the Democrats will control a fifty-fifty split Senate because Vice President Kamala Harris will have the tie-breaking vote. Many Democrats still argue that the Georgia runoff is of the utmost importance because more conservative Democrats like West Virginia’s Joe Manchin and Arizona’s Kyrsten Sinema have proved in the past two years that they do not unequivocally support many of the Democrat’s essential policy goals, such as addressing climate change and certain tax provisions.

On the other hand, the Republicans took the reigns of control of the House of Representatives from the Democrats. However, their margin is far smaller than many conservatives expected. Historically, when a president has a low approval rating, their party will lose a significant amount of seats. Though President Joe Biden’s approval rating hovers around a low 40%, compounding factors preventing the forecasted “red wave” from occurring, which could include that endorsements from Donald Trump were not as effective as many conservatives hoped they would be. The GOP (Grand Old Party, otherwise known as the Republican Party) gained eight seats, but this is fewer seats than average for the party challenging the president’s party. In New Jersey’s District 5, where Immaculate Heart Academy is located, incumbent Democrat Josh Gottheimer won over Republican Frank Pallotta.

Overall, this was a very contentious election. Though the results were not as many expected or predicted, they proved that the country is extremely polarized. It is unlikely that any significant legislation will be passed in Congress in the next two years, since the two parties are unlikely to agree on the topics that concern Americans the most, which according to a Pew Research Center poll conducted in October 2022 include education, health care, violent crime, gun policy, immigration, and climate change. As a citizen, it is often very disheartening to know that partisan politics and the desire to get re-elected will often supersede a Senator or Representative’s desire to improve the lives of their constituents.

By Johanna Murphy’23 Co-Editor in Chief