Who won the House & Senate? Spoiler! America Doesn’t Know.

Even though Election Day was November 8th, the House and Senate results are still pending. Several factors contribute to this delay: the amount of time it takes for state election officials to accurately tabulate mail and absentee ballots, media organizations cautiously declaring winners, and potential recounts in close contests (a candidate wins by less than 0.1 percentage points). AP Government and Politics teacher Mr. Whitcomb described this delay in results as “an embarrassment for our country; the people deserve better.” Considering the autonomy each state holds in the election process, Mr. Whitcomb emphasizes how “Florida has come a long way since the 2000 election disaster and should be an example to the rest of the states on how to run an efficient election.” This acknowledgment of Florida’s improvement and disappointment for the lack of timely results is shared by Mr. Russell, the AP European History, AP World History, and AP Macroeconomics teacher. However, many Apopka students are more lenient with the delay in results. Senior Kaitlyn Harrison has no strong opinions and says, “It’s normal to have to wait on results considering mail-in ballots and America’s large population.” She also expresses her hopes for an overall Democratic win for the sole purpose of passing legislation. Kaitlyn strongly dislikes a stagnant government that is gridlocked due to the strong polarization. Additionally, Mr. Russell expands on the importance of this election and how Republicans would like to halt Biden’s Progressive Agenda with the control of the House, which he believes to be probable. He continues to explain how Republicans also hope to halt Biden’s Judicial Agenda “by controlling who he nominates for federal judgeships and the supreme court,” however, Mr. Russell says, “it looks like [the Republicans] may not get control of the Senate.” The Republicans are hoping for the gridlock Kaitlyn despises. It makes one wonder: Is this a form of checks and balances or an impediment to progressive legislation? As a teacher who is tired of hearing, “it’s the most important election of our life,” Mr. Whitcomb explains how he is “policy focused, not party focused. If my party wins but doesn’t do anything for me, then who cares that they won? These politicians talk and talk and talk in hopes to convince you that that equals results. I am tired of the talk, get something done.” 

As of this publication, the Democrats have won the Senate and the House is still unknown. The Blue and White have previously written about the goals of each candidate in the “2022 Midterm Elections” article. Please refer to this article if you would like to learn more about the US Senate, Governor, and School Board candidates and election projections.  

Florida Election Results Opinions

FL Governor

“I am pleased with the results [of the Governor elections]. Ron DeSantis is clearly a superior candidate to Mr. Crist. I’ve been very satisfied with the performance of Governor DeSantis in his previous term, and I think he’s a clear choice to continue leading Florida. His handling of the COVID-19 pandemic was very positive [no pun intended]. I believe he did well with keeping schools open and ending mask mandates; things of that nature. I think he has a good grasp of the Florida economy. I also support his pro-life and pro-family agendas, which I think are very important in today’s social climate. Crist is a sleazy politician who goes wherever the wind blows. He’s changed political parties. He just does whatever will get him elected. I think that he is currently not mentally as strong as Governor DeSantis. I did not agree with his policies, especially his pro-choice policies, and overall watching the debate he proved ineffective in communicating his policy ideas. Ron DeSantis is clearly a better candidate.”

• Junior Isaac Perry

“People really aren’t voting for DeSantis, they’re voting for whoever is going to come after him, or whoever is in his [administration]. He’s going to spend all of his time running for President, as he has already been doing, and will not care necessarily about Florida. He’ll just try to beat the other people by pulling political stunts and stuff. DeSantis isn’t going to be focused. If he doesn’t win [the presidency], he’ll stay it off, but if he does win, you’re voting for whoever’s after him.”

• Senior Anna Lamay

“Crist is honestly a Republican. If DeSantis or Crist won it would have made no difference. I would’ve voted for DeSantis because of Bright Futures, and that’s the only reason. I don’t see a difference between the two of them. Florida is gonna be Republican regardless, so just live with it. Tax cuts!”

• Senior Michaela Moss

“I think Ron DeSantis should have won. I don’t necessarily agree with his policies, but I think he is better for Florida than Crist was. [If he ran for President,] I think I would definitely prefer him over Donald Trump, but I would rather not have a Republican President. As soon as [DeSantis] runs for President, he can’t be running for governor anymore, and somebody else will take that spot. I don’t know who will take that spot. Hopefully, it is someone that we can trust more. Crist feels wishy-washy, he doesn’t feel genuine. While DeSantis is like a good politician, Crist changes from Republican to Democrat. I don’t feel like he’s 100% in it, I think he just switched to democrat to have a greater chance of winning to vote against DeSantis.”

• Senior Amara Thompson

FL Senator

“I would have voted for Rubio. I like Rubio because of the way he’s addressed foreign policies, especially in my country Venezuela. He’s been open towards our people and critical of the government there. I feel like, in that aspect, he’s been a good senator and a good ambassador for the US in Venezuela. I don’t like Demings’s policies to make the police bigger than it already is. Specifically in Florida, I believe the police force is fine, and there is no need for it to increase. I disagree with Demings trying to increase our taxes to strengthen the police force. It’d be better [to allocate these taxes towards] an increase in overall salary for every teacher instead of only raising pay for starting teachers. Also, for funding and schools in general; having more administrators and making the kids feel safer. There are a lot of issues that are currently going on in schools because we do not have enough authority in the schools. Increasing the police force would not solve this because they [Demings and her admin] are not gonna use the police force for schools.”

• Senior Andres Palmer

“I think Marco Rubio should have won. I think he’s done a decent job in Congress versus Demings, who was very new. She didn’t have any experience in Congress or anything. The only thing she had going on was being Chief of Police and the experience with the workforce of gun control. I feel like a policy Marco Rubio should implement is fighting against school shootings because he mentioned that in his debate.”

• Junior Joselyn Diaz

“I think Demings should have won. I don’t like Marco Rubio at all [because of] his policies and him in general. I understand that Val Demings is very pro-police, but she’s still a Democrat and, as a black woman, she still has my interest more in mind. But Marco Rubio has nothing. I don’t agree with his policies toward schooling and his opinions on school choice where parents get to decide where their children go to school. They’re both kind of poklies [like poking a bear], but I feel like Demings is still more understanding, whereas Marco Rubio is just 100% Back the Blues, which I don’t like. I’m looking for a change. I disagree with Val Demings on pro-police, but she is more for investing back into our communities. She is not pro-school-choice at all, I don’t think so. I remember when she came to my church and spoke with the people. She is more community inclusive.”

• Senior Amara Thompson

Orange County School Board District 2 & 3

How do you feel about the District 3 elections?

“I have mixed feelings about that. My first feeling is that Dr. Michael Daniels was the more qualified candidate. As a person who wants someone who’s been involved in the school system and knows the workings of the school system, to be on the board [being qualified is] important to me. Of course, as an English teacher, I’m also concerned that Alicia Farrant is connected to a group [Moms for Liberty] that has recently been in the news for wanting to ban books and wanting to limit our discussion about race and sexuality. I will say, however, that because I deeply believe in democracy, I don’t have a problem with her voice being on the board if she represents a strong percentage of people who believe the way she feels. I believe that there should be a representation of all different types of groups on our school board. I just wish that she had been more previously involved in the school system instead of seemingly running on a fluke on this wave of people who are running on the issue of banning books; that, of course, bothers me.”

What about the District 2 elections? 

“I don’t know as much about that one. Both people running, Salamanca and Ashby, seemed pretty qualified, so I didn’t do a deep dive into that because I had fewer concerns. It seemed like both of them have experience in our school system and are running on platforms of supporting students and teachers, so I didn’t have a stake in that: I wasn’t as interested.”

• AP Literature, Journalism, and English 4 teacher Mrs. Houvouras

How do you feel about the school board district 3 results? 

“I am happy Farrant won because I believe parents’ opinions about what their kids are learning in high schools are important. In my final analysis, parents and voters control what we do, not teachers. Also, I am in favor of banning books.”

• AP European History, AP World History, and AP Macroeconomics teacher Mr. Russell