Mary Pintea – News Editor

mvp5879@psu.edu

Pennsylvania’s Nov. 8 midterm elections left voters hopeful for the future. 

John Fetterman won the Senate race, narrowly defeating Dr. Mehmet Oz. The Associated Press reports that Fetterman—who was a consistent front runner until his debate against Oz—won by a slim margin, with a four percent lead over Oz. Libertarian Party candidate

Erik Gerhardt received one percent of the votes, with Green Party and Keystone Party candidates Richard Weiss and Daniel Wassmer receiving less than one percent of the votes. Erie County was one of the 14 counties to have the greatest number of  “blue” votes for Fetterman, along with Pittsbugh, Philadelphia, and State College, while the rest of the state was led by Oz. Oz claimed more of Pennsylvania’s counties, but lacked the ability to get enough votes in the areas with higher population density.

The race for the House was close as well, with Mike Kelly, R, winning over 59 percent of the votes compared to Dan Pastore, D, who retained 40 percent of the votes. Erie County and the rest of District 16 voted mostly “red”, with few counties voting for Democratic Party candidates. 

Josh Shapiro won the gubernatorial race against Doug Mastriano, R, obtaining 56 percent of the votes. Austin Davis, who ran alongside Shaprio since the primaries in an unprecedented fashion, was elected Lieutenant Governor. 

When viewing the map from the Associated Press, who handles elections due to the level of scrutiny they apply to calling districts, Pennsylvania looks to lean red. What is often overlooked is the most populous cities, and what party they typically vote for. Though most counties may have voted for Republican candidates, they have a lower population than the larger cities like Philadelphia or Pittsburgh, which tend to lean to the left. 

As of Friday, Nov. 11, Senate control has yet to be decided. CNN has concluded that three races– Arizona, Georgia, and Nevada—will dictate who has control. Either party must win at least two of these races to take control of the Senate, or wait for the runoff election in Georgia to take place. Also in question is which party will control the House next year, but it remains unknown. As it stands, the House race is still close, with congressional power appearing to be in the favor of Republicans. Regardless of what way the remaining ballots left to be counted go, the House will still be considerably divided.