Every two years, America goes through a series of elections to determine the composition of the House of Representatives and Senate. On November 8, the 2022 midterms went into full swing, with millions of voters going to their local polling places to make their voice heard. Here are some of the most significant election news, both in Orange County and across the country.

Fetterman Wins Pennsylvania: Democratic candidate John Fetterman defeated his Republican challenger Dr. Mehmet Oz, in one of the key Senate races across the country. Fetterman’s victory in Pennsylvania comes months after the senator-elect suffered a stroke, causing him difficulty on the campaign trail, most notably in a debate against his opponent, in which he experienced auditory issues. Oz, best known as a celebrity television doctor, called Fetterman on Wednesday morning to concede.

Georgia’s Close Race: The race between Senator Raphael Warnock (D) and contender Herschel Walker (R) has been a closely watched one, and many suspected that the race would be neck and neck between the two candidates. With less than a percentage point of votes dividing the two candidates, neither winning more than 50% of the votes, the state announced that its newest senator would be decided in a December 6 runoff election, pitting the two directly against each other. 

California’s 47th district: Here in Orange County, a race between incumbent Katie Porter (D) and Challenger Scott Baugh (R) has come to a head, with less than a thousand votes separating the two candidates, and with only 50% of the votes tallied as of Wednesday evening.

DeSantis defeats contender Crist: One of the first elections to be decided, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) took a dominant and early lead against his contender, former Senator Charlie Crist (D). By the end of Tuesday night, the race had been called by just about everyone, after DeSantis won by almost 20 percentage points. DeSantis, a possible 2024 presidential contender, took to the stage after his victory, celebrating the victory and reiterating some of his actions during the last few years of his governorship, saying, “We have embraced freedom. We have maintained law and order. We have protected the rights of parents. We have respected our taxpayers, and we reject woke ideology.”

Hochul holds on to the mansion: New York Governor Kathy Hochul managed to keep her seat, facing a challenge from Republican Lee Zeldin. Zeldin, who ran on a tough on crime policy, was defeated by nearly 5% in the final tally. Hochul took over the governor’s mansion after it was left vacant by disgraced governor Andrew Cuomo, who faced multiple scandals, leading to his resignation.

Arizona and Nevada races too close to call: At press time, the races for Nevada and Arizona are currently too close to call. Arizona’s race results are delayed due in large part to issues with voting machines in Maricopa county, AZ, but those results are expected by the end of the week. Democrats currently hold a lead in both the Senate race, where Democrat Mark Kelly has a commanding, 80,000 vote lead over his opponent, Blake Masters. And in the gubernatorial race, candidate Katie Hobbs holds a thin lead over Republican contender Kari Lake. With another 400,000 votes to be tabulated, the race is still very much alive. In Nevada, meanwhile, Republican candidate Adam Laxalt leads Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto by less than 20,000 votes, while in the gubernatorial race, Republican Joe Lombardo leads Democrat Steve Sisolak by nearly 40,000 votes. Control of the Senate may end up being linked to one or both of these two races. 

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