Seats were at stake for local, state and national levels.
Junior Jake McMillian watched the results as they were being reported. McMillian closely watched Kansas district three, which covers Johnson and Wyandotte counties.
“District three was super important because it was the only chance for a Democrat to win in Kansas,” McMillian said.
Republican Kevin Yoder defeated Democrat Stephene Moore.
Republican Sam Brownback beat Democrat Tom Holland in the Kansas Governor’s race. Even though the majority of Kansas votes were in favor of Brownback, there are many that don’t support the new governor.
“We’ve elected a Governor that is against gays, women and science,” McMillian said. “He doesn’t support any gay rights, a woman’s right to choose or the theory of evolution.”
Chair of the Social Sciences Division, Tonia Salvini also said she isn’t a proponent of Brownback.
“I’m highly skeptical of his ability to understand mainstream Kansans,” she said.
Senior DJ Grayson said he is more concerned with specific issues rather than who was elected.
“Education funding will effect the freshmen,” Grayson said. “I could be affected if they pass a bill to cut back the amount to pay back student loans.”
Grayson also said he thinks the economy will be a struggle with finding a job.
“I think the economy will affect me more than some of the freshmen because I’m graduating and I’ll be looking for a job,” he said. “They still have a security blanket that I don’t have anymore.”
There were also many national elections that were gaining attention.
“I also watched the Arizona Governor’s race,” McMillian said. “Jan Brewer is a slap in the face to civil rights.”
Gov. Brewer has been in recent media for the passage of Arizona’s Senate Bill 1070 that put strict requirements on businesses and people in the U.S. in regards to illegal immigrants.
Salvini said she kept an eye on the exit polls for the big national races to get a sense of what might happen.
One national race she watched closely was the Florida U.S. Senate race.
Republican Marco Rubio, Democrat Kendrick Meek and unaffiliated, but former Republican, Charlie Crist were all fighting for the same seat to represent Florida, but not without controversy.
“It was first thought that Bill Clinton went to Meek and asked him to drop out of the race,” Salvini said. “But Crist was the one that approached Meek.”
Rubio walked away with the victory with 49 percent of the vote. Crist received 30 percent and Meek came in last with 20 percent of votes.
With the Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives gaining seats in the elections, they now have the House majority with 239 seats to the Democrat’s 188. The Democrats previously held the majority.
The change in House majority could mean several things for how legislation is passed in the future.
“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell won’t be struck down by Congress, it will have to happen through the executive branch,” McMillian said. “It can be done.”
McMillian also said he sees a future problem with national tax cuts.
“We will see Republicans trying to decrease the deficit and extending Bush tax cuts to the wealthy at the same time,” he said. “By extending tax cuts, you are denying the country of revenue and people who don’t need tax cuts would be getting them.”
Salvini also sees some potential issues with the Republicans having control of the House.
“It could be problematic. The pressure is on those Republicans in that House,” she said. “Republican Representatives have their work cut out for them. There may be some conflicts that arise in the Republican Party.”
Even though Salvini said there could be issues, she said there are positives to the change.
“The Democrats still have the presidency and the Senate, but it is nice to have balance in Washington,” she said.
With the next presidential election only two years away, there is much to be decided.
“The next two years will be telling,” McMillian said. “The game is not over for the Democrats.”
McMillian also added that if we want a progressive future, young people need to make their voices heard.