Election Day ended without a clear winner in a majority of state races and with many wins on either side of the aisle, the balance of power in Congress was left unknown. As results continue to pour in, here’s what was determined in Duval County and Florida, along with some key takeaways. 

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Rep. Marco Rubio, both Republicans, each won reelection for their respective positions. DeSantis beat Democrat Charlie Crist by a hefty margin of over 10% when the Associated Press called the governor’s race just an hour after polls closed.

The GOP won the majority in Florida’s cabinet with 20 Republican seats and 8 for Democrats. Florida now has an all-Republican trifecta in its governor, state House and state Senate.

Republican Aaron Bean defeated Democrat LaShona “LJ” Holloway overall for Florida’s 4th district representative, according to the Duval County Supervisor of Elections website. 

District 4 is comprised of Duval County, Clay County and Nassau County. Holloway won in Duval County but lost in the other two. 

Republicans also won with other candidates in Florida, including Attorney General Ashley Moody, Agricultural Commissioner Wilton Simpson and Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, in their respective races. 

Three amendments were proposed on the Florida ballot — Property Value Considerations for Flood Improvements, Abolish Constitution Revision Commission and Expand Homestead Propery Tax Exemption.

Ballot measures require 60% to pass, and with over 95% of votes in, none of the three amendments garnered over 60% approval. The closest was amendment three, Expand Homestead Property Tax Exemption, which received 59% yes. 

Contrary to what Republicans predicted as a “red sweep”, the balance of power in Congress won’t likely be known for days or weeks after states have had time to count all mail-in ballots.

The GOP needed a net gain of five seats in the House and only one seat in the Senate to win the majority in each chamber. Polls and political experts predicted Republicans to take control over the House, but the Senate still remains a tossup. 

The key states that were predicted to hold the most influence over the results were the last to come in. In the final minutes of Nov. 8, seats in the Senate were split between parties and the House sat at 114 Democrats and 166 Republicans. 

Although results are not official, the U.S. Senate currently sits at 48 seats for Democrats and 47 for the GOP. 

Among the Senate races, some of the key states that continue to hold significant influence over which party controls the Senate are Arizona, Nevada and Georgia. The results of these races might not be known for days or weeks as mail votes are being counted.

Neither candidate, Republican Hershel Walker and Democrat Raphael Warnock, in Georgia’s high-profile Senate race managed to get over 50% of support from voters. The pair now head for a runoff election on Tuesday, Dec. 6.

All 435 U.S. House seats were up for election, yet 14 races were projected to be the most unpredictable. The results of these key races won’t be known until late mail ballots are counted, which could take days. 

History was made in the 2022 midterms as 25-year-old Democrat Maxwell Frost of Florida’s District 10 was elected to the House, making him the first Gen-Z in U.S. Congress.

Despite experiencing a stroke just weeks prior, Pennsylvania Democrat John Fetterman won the gubernatorial race, defeating Republican Mehmet Oz, or also known as T.V. host Dr. Oz.  

Republican Greg Abbott won the governor’s race in Texas, defeating Democrat Beto O’Rourke. 

Incumbent Brian Kemp was re-elected as Georgia’s governor with 53.4% of votes, beating Democrat Stacey Abrams.  

Democrat Maura Healey accomplished history last night as well– Healey became the first openly gay person and first woman to be elected Governor of Massachusetts. 

In Maryland, Republican Wes Moore became the first Black Governor of Maryland; Democrat Summer Lee became the first Black woman to be elected to Congress from Pennsylvania.

The issue of abortion was one of the most pressing matters on the ballot, especially as some states included proposals regarding abortion on their ballots. 

Among them was Kentucky, where a little over 50% of voters voted no to an amendment that would state there is no right to abortion or any requirement to fund abortion in its State Constitution.

In Vermont, roughly 77% of voters voted yes to creating a constitutional right to personal autonomy. In Michigan, over 50% of voters voted to create a state constitutional right to reproductive freedom, including decisions about all matters relating the pregnancy, such as abortion and contraception. 

A report from Victory Fund found a record number of LGBTQ+ candidates running in this year’s midterm election; all 50 states have candidates from the LGBTQ+ community.

Many of the races still remain uncalled as ballots continue to be counted so the U.S. will have to wait and see the full impact that this midterm election has had. 

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