The Democratic party took control of the House of Representatives with the biggest voter turnout for the midterm election on November 6, 2018.

The New York Times has estimated that 114 million votes were cast in the 2018 elections, which is approximately 30 million more compared to the 2014 elections.

Corwin Smidt, an associate professor of political science at Michigan State University, told Time that these turnout rates are at 20-year highs, especially for some states including Florida and Virginia.

Although the voter participation didn’t quite reach the numbers seen in the 2016 presidential election, politicians say the midterm voter turnout played a big role in the party division, including the control of the House and the Senate. Not only is division of the parties causing separation in our government, other sources including Time says that voter turnout could be the major cause for what people are now calling “the blue wave.”

The blue wave is the new generation of Democrats now going out and casting their votes. Making a major difference in these high levels of participation, this blue wave is what gave the Democrats the control of the House.

The Republican party lost control of the House but maintained control in the Senate. In the Senate, the Republicans gained two seats resulting in 51-46 GOP over Democrats. Gaining 30 seats in the House, the Democrats were able to divide the power in Congress.  The total number for Democrats vs. Republicans for the House is now 225-197.

In Pennsylvania, the high turnout resulted in several big victories for the both parties.

Re-elected for his second term as governor, incumbent Democrat Tom Wolf easily defeated Republican Scott Wagner 58-41. Also defeating his Republican opponent,incumbent Bob Casey was reelected as the Senator for Pennsylvania with a 56-43 over  Lou Bareletta..

Locally, Scott Perry was re-elected for his fourth term in the 10th Congressional district as he defeated Democrat George Scott in a close race.  After the three point loss, Scott has not ruled out running for political office again, according to Penn Live.