Chris Shea, staff writer
It was a big victory for the Republican Party on Nov. 4, as they took control of both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate in what looked like a clean sweep.
There was some good news for the Democrats as they managed to maintain state control in close gubernatorial races in Colorado and Connecticut. But that was it.
States like Illinois, which usually tends to vote Democrat, shifted its leaning towards the Republicans after Bruce Rauner defeated incumbent governor Pat Quinn. Wisconsin, as well, decided that the people still like Governor Scott Walker (Republican).
But the real winner wasn’t conservative ideology, it was money, plain and simple. Adjusted to inflation, the 2014-midterm elections were the most ex- pensive ever, even with the congressional races in North Carolina being the costliest in history.
Every election since 1998 has become more expensive than the previous, a trend that will continue onwards, according to projections from the Center for Responsive Politics.
The Republicans made the most of their fundraising advantage over the Democrats. It wasn’t necessarily how much money they raised, but how they raised it. Since 2010, the Democrats have gone with a more “grassroots” approach by having small donors as opposed to the Republicans use of large donors.
Even the Democrats dabbled in the act of using “dark money” (large, un- identified outside donors). Still, the Democrats and their Super PACs (Political Action Committees), organizations that make the ads for the candidates using small and large donors, failed to reach out to the common voter, allowing the Republican platform of “President Obama sucks” to reign supreme over the Democrats’ platform of “wait we don’t like President Obama either.”
Whether you like it or not, the Republican Party is now in control, and if you have a problem with it or want to continue that trend, be sure to vote in 2016.