For the 2010 midterm elections, Nov. 2, major races took place across the country for local, state and federal positions. As senators, representatives and governors were elected, millions of Americans tuned in to watch the results.
After winning an additional 61 seats in the House of Representatives, the Republicans achieved a majority with 239 representatives, seizing control of the lower chamber. However, the Democrats maintained their majority in the U.S. Senate, with 52 senators. (The winners of some races are still being determined.)
In Nevada, incumbent Democrat Harry Reid ran against Republican Sharron Angle for Senate. Before election day, Reid had trailed in the polls by as much as 2.7 points on average. However, on election day, Reid ended up defeating Angle by 5 points, according to CNN.
California was another battleground state for Senate. The GOP needed to secure this seat, among a few in other states, in order to achieve a majority in the Senate.
However, incumbent Democrat Barbara Boxer, who has held her Senate seat for the past 18 years, defeated Republican Carly Fiorina, a former CEO of Hewlett-Packard. In polls leading up to election day, Boxer had a lead of 5 points on average; but when the votes were finally cast, Boxer won by a margin of 10 percentage points, according to a Real Clear Politics.
In the race for Governor of California, Democrat Jerry Brown won with 53.6 percent of votes to Republican Meg Whitman’s 41.4 percent, according to the state’s semi-official election results. For Lieutenant Governor, Democrat Gavin Newsom earned 50.0 percent of votes to Republican Abel Maldonado’s 39.5 percent.
Among California’s ballot measures, Propositions 20, 22, 25 and 26 were approved by voters, while Propositions 19, 21, 23, 24 and 27 were rejected. (For more information on the propositions, visit the state’s election website.)
Student reactions vary
On campus the next day, students expressed a range of opinions on the results of the midterm elections.
“Since we have a Democratic governor, I’m not extremely happy; but, overall, I’m happy with the Senate and the House of Representatives,” Kendall Wheeler, ’12, said. “I am also glad that Proposition 19 [to legalize marijuana] did not pass; that would have been extremely unfortunate.”
In contrast to Wheeler, senior Kelsey Hart celebrated the winners of the state elections, but regretted the nationwide results.
“I was happy that we [Democrats] won the governor’s seat and still have a majority in the Senate,” Hart said. “But I’m not really happy with the House of Representatives. Hopefully it will work out that the Senate will work against the GOP House majority. As for Governor, I hope Jerry Brown can turn around the California economy.”
For a more in-depth analysis, and to view results for all elections, check out CNN election tools or Real Clear Politics. Check The Feather soon for a report on local elections.
For more coverage of politics, read the Oct. 13 article, Brown, Whitman engage in final debate.
