On Tuesday voters across the nation exercised their civil rights by voting in the 2022 Midterm elections. Here are some highlights of the state and national elections.
On the state level, Republican incumbent Mike Lee secured a third term in Utah’s U.S. Senate seat with 54.9% of the vote. Lee beat out his unaffiliated opponent, Evan McMullin, by over 100,000 votes, according to Utah’s election results. At the time of this report, 66% of the vote had been tallied.
As predicted in the historically red state, all four of Utah’s congressional districts stayed in Republican hands, electing the following politicians:
- U.S. House District 1: Republican Blake D. Moore won 67.9% of the vote over Democrat Rick E. Jones.
- U.S. House District 2: Chris Stewart, a Republican, won with 63% of the vote, followed by Democrat Nick Mitchell, who followed with 30% of the vote.
- U.S. House District 3: Republican John Curtis won the seat with 66.3% of the vote, and Democrat Glenn Wright came in second with 27%.
- U.S. House District 4: Burgess Owens, the Republican incumbent won with 62% of the vote. Democrat Darlene McDonald secured 30% of the vote.
In the local sphere, Orem voters rejected Proposition 2, the sole proposition on the ballot that would have created a new school district within the city boundaries, KUER reported. According to Utah’s election results, 71.5% of voters in the county rejected the proposition.
Leading up to Election Day, Republicans across the nation were predicting a “red wave,” a nationwide surge of Republican victories on election night, Deseret News stated. However, as polls closed, the wave turned into more of a splash, according to U.S. World & News.
At the time of reporting, no party held a majority in either the U.S. House or Senate. As of Thursday evening, the Senate was occupied by 49 Republican seats and 48 Democrat seats, per calls made by Fox and CNN, results from Nevada, Arizona, and Georgia still pouring in, delaying final results.
In order for Republicans to gain control of the Senate, they must secure the two remaining seats, and the same goes for the Democratic party.
However, final results for the Senate won’t be revealed until Dec. 6, due to Georgia’s runoff election. With 99% of the vote in, Democrat Raphael Warnock sits at 49.42% of the vote, followed closely by Republican Herschel Walker, who holds 48.52% of the vote. Per state law, if no candidate crosses the 50% threshold, a runoff election must take place, NPR reported.
On the U.S. House side, however, Republicans are slightly closer to a majority with 209 seats, as opposed to the Democrat’s 189. As of Thursday, there are 37 house seats left, with votes still streaming in in states such as Nevada, Arizona, California, Oregon, and more, per Fox News.
