Republicans gain from their stronger Senate majority will be tempered by the House’s flip to blue, which splits the bicameral legislature and ends what was — following Kavanaugh’s confirmation — an effective right-wing lock on all three branches of the federal government.

At the time of print publication, various West Coast races — as well as neck-and-neck ones elsewhere — had not been called for the House and Senate.

Notable victories in the Senate included those of Republican Ted Cruz over Democrat challenger Beto O’Rourke in Texas and Republican Josh Hawley over Democrat incumbent Claire McCaskill in Missouri. Democrat Joe Manchin kept his contested seat in West Virginia, while Republican Kevin Cramer unseated Democrat Heidi Heitkamp in North Dakota, and former Florida governor Rick Scott — a Republican — seemedgovernor’s races on the ballot, Democrats looked to have gained six, even in the face of two high-profile losses in the south.

One of those two was in Florida, where Ron DeSantis — an outspoken supporter of President Donald Trump — beat Bernie Sanders-endorsed progressive Andrew Gillum.

“I’m not going to beat around the bush — this is definitely not the result I expected,” said Tatie Balabanis ’19, a registered voter in Miami-Dade County. “But I think it is almost reassuring knowing, one, how many people from Florida went and voted, and two, how close it was because I feel like as it was just within reach. There is so much opportunity for change at the local level, leaving a lot of potential for change in my county and local