Midterm election of milestones
Tuesday’s election was an election of firsts all across the country.
The nation’s first Native American and Muslim women were elected to congressional seats, as well as the youngest woman to be elected to Congress.
Native Americans and Democrats Sharice Davids and Debra Haaland each beat their Republican opponents in Kansas and New Mexico respectively.
Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota became the first Muslim women to be elected to the house.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the upstart candidate from New York’s 14th Congressional District, became the youngest woman to ever be elected to Congress at 29 years old.
Ocasio-Cortez easily won her district, taking 78.5 percent of the vote.
Firsts weren’t limited to the national stage, though, with Colorado electing Jared Polis, the nation’s first openly gay governor, and Key West electing Teri Johnston, Florida’s first openly lesbian mayor.
Beto: ‘I’m so f—–g proud of you guys.’
The clock finally struck midnight for the Cinderella-story Senate campaign of Texas Representative Beto O’Rourke Tuesday.
By late Wednesday night, O’Rourke had lost to Republican incumbent Ted Cruz by roughly 220,000 votes, with 99 percent of precincts reporting.
This marked the 20th year in a row that Republicans have won all statewide races, but O’Rourke’s 48.3 percent of the vote compared to Cruz’s 51 percent was the closest any Democrat has come in years.
“I want to thank this amazing campaign of people, not a dime from a single PAC, all people, all the time in every single part of Texas,” O’Rourke said while conceding in El Paso. “All of you, showing the country how you do this. I’m so f—— proud of you guys.”
O’Rourke’s was one of many Democratic campaigns in this midterm election cycle that avoided corporate money, raising just shy of $34 million just from donations of $200 or less, according the the Federal Election Commission’s website.
Stefanik holds on to NY21 district
Incumbent Republican Elise Stefanik defeated Democrat Tedra Cobb and Green Party candidate Lynn Kahn in the race for New York’s 21st Congressional District race Tuesday, garnering 56.7 percent of the district’s votes, with 100 percent of votes counted.
Cobb managed 40 percent, while Kahn only received 1.5 percent.
“Our campaign has always been about you,” Stefanik said at her victory rally Tuesday night.
Cobb, who ran with healthcare as a primary focus of her campaign, was gracious in defeat and hopeful for the future, saying in a press release: “I am so grateful to the 90,526 people that voted for me today. Make no mistake, this race and these results should be a wake-up call to Rep. Stefanik. The residents of Northern New York are watching her votes and will hold her accountable.”
Stefanik will now serve her third term in the position.
Trump rips GOP losses, threatens Dems
Following the flip of party control in the House of Representatives, President Donald Trump was quick to go on the offensive Wednesday.
In a press conference following the midterm elections, Trump ripped into the defeated Republican candidates that had distanced themselves from him.
“Mia Love gave me no love, but then she lost. Too bad,” Trump said of Love, a Utah incumbent who lost, before adding Florida’s Carlos Cuberlo, Colorado’s Mike Coffman and Virginia’s Barbara Comstock, among others.
Trump cited Kentucky’s Andy Barr, Illinois’ Mike Bost and Rodney Davis as victorious Republicans who had embraced him and his message.
He also went on the attack toward the incoming House democrats, promising a “war-like posture” from him and his administration if the House uses the newly found power to investigate his political dealings.
Following Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ resignation at the request of Trump, and Trump’s subsequent installment of Matthew G. Whitaker as acting attorney general, many democrats were worried that this may be an effort to undermine the Russia investigation currently lead by Robert Mueller.
Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader, said in a statement, “Given his previous comments advocating defunding and imposing limitations on the Mueller investigation, Mr. Whitaker should recuse himself from its oversight for the duration of his time as acting attorney general.”
