This year's midterm election cycle provided success stories for Democrats and Republicans, who both witnessed impressive turnout across the country amid troubling times for the American economy.
With a new Congress set to convene early next year, control in Washington will be divided. Republicans will have control of the House and Democrats will control the Senate, marking a stark contrast from recent years under total Democrat control that aided President Joe Biden's policies and plans.
The victories from both parties — from gubernatorial elections and Senate races — revealed popularity for certain candidates and shifts among key metrics that have proven vital in past elections.
Ron DeSantis
Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has served at the helm of the Sunshine State since 2019, saw great success in the state's Nov. 8 gubernatorial election, defeating his Democratic challenger, former Florida GOP Gov. Charlie Crist.
In the election, DeSantis received nearly 60% of the state's vote, compared to Crist, who received 40% of the vote.
With his landslide victory — DeSantis, who is being pushed by some conservative voters to make a run for president in 2024 — became the first Republican governor in the state to win Miami-Dade County in two decades. DeSantis' victory in the county, which has a high Latino and Hispanic population, shed light on the fact that many within the state approve of his work.
"My first year, we banned sanctuary cities, and [the] news media thought that would not be approved down [in Miami]. And yet Hispanic voters in Florida had the highest approval rating for our policy to ban sanctuary cities,
John Fetterman
Pennsylvania Sen.-elect John Fetterman, a Democrat who currently serves as the Keystone State's lieutenant governor, provided another success for Democrats as they aimed to retain control in the Senate.
In the general election, Fetterman defeated Dr. Mehmet Oz, his GOP challenger, in what was considered by many as the most closely watched Senate race of the 2022 cycle. Fetterman and Oz were running to replace retiring Republican Sen. Pat Toomey, who has served in the Senate since 2011 and formerly represented the state's 15th District in the House.
Fetterman's victory over Oz came after a grueling campaign that featured only one debate between the two candidates. Earlier this year, in May, Fetterman suffered a stroke and relied on closed-captioning services through the latter half of his campaign to respond to questions from the media and debate moderators.
Fetterman's health struggles, however, did not upend his election chances. In the general election, Fetterman defeated Oz by more than 260,000 votes, earning 51.2% of the state's vote, compared to Oz's 46.3%