The midterm elections: An overview

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“I Voted” stickers are laid out for voters on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020, at a polling place in Lexington, Kentucky. Photo by Jack Weaver | Staff

Paul Schlowak, Reporter

Midterm elections took place Tuesday, Nov. 8, during which Americans voted for governors, representatives and senators. The election decided whether Democrats would lose their control in the national House of Representatives and the Senate.

Across the nation, voters determined 36 governors, 435 House seats and 35 Senate seats that were open to election, according to Ballotopedia.com.

Kentucky voters re-elected Republican Senator Rand Paul with 62% of the vote. According to USA Today, Senator Paul is prominent for his libertarian viewpoints and his critique of U.S. spending on foreign aid.

In the Kentucky state government house races, six districts went to a Republican, while one went to a Democrat. Kentuckians also voted about two referendums that would add an amendment to the Kentucky Constitution.

Passage of amendment 1 would allow the General Assembly to call itself into a special session, which is a power currently held only by the state governor.

Amendment 2 aimed to provide precedent for abortion restrictions in the commonwealth, stating “To protect human life, nothing in this Constitution shall be construed to secure or protect a right to abortion or require the funding of abortion.”

Neither amendment received a majority vote and thus will not pass into law.

Lexington voters re-elected incumbent Mayor Linda Gorton for another four-year term with 71% of the vote. Discussion about gun violence and affordable housing dominated the mayoral race.

Gorton is prominent for conservative management of the budget and investment in affordable housing, city parks and police vehicles. Lexington became the most vaccinated city in the state under her leadership, according to Ballotopedia.com.

The Democrats won the Senate, as Senator Catherine Cortez Masto was re-elected in Nevada. With 50 of 100 seats, the Democrats now have the majority.

The last remaining seat will be distributed at the runoff in Georgia in four weeks.

The race for the House of Representatives is too close to call. The Republicans, with 211 out of 218 seats, have an advantage.