On Tuesday, voters across the country cast their ballots in what became a “blue wave” of Democrats flipping previously Republican seats and retaking control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Democrats won by even larger margins than polls predicted and overtook counties and states where Trump led significantly in the 2024 election.
Rhode Island saw similar Democratic victories, with Democrat Helena Foulkes elected as governor and U.S. Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), U.S. Rep. Gabe Amo (D-R.I. 1) and U.S. Rep. Seth Magaziner ’06 (D-R.I. 2) reelected to their respective Congressional seats. In Providence, voters elected progressive State Rep. David Morales MPA’19 as the next mayor, and the city became the first to approve a divestment measure by popular vote.
The Herald spoke to students across campus about their reactions to the midterm election results as well as their hopes and expectations for the political future of the United States.
Will Thomas ’28, who voted by mail in Virginia, said that he was “not surprised, but excited” that Morales won the Providence mayoral election. He added that he thinks Morales represents “a new generation of leadership.” At 28 years old, Morales is Providence’s youngest elected mayor.
“I also think it’s kind of a celebratory night for Brown,” Thomas added, noting that Brown alums Rob Sand ’05.5 and Hannah Pingree ’98 were elected as governors of Iowa and Maine, respectively.
Bountou Keita ’28 said she was “happily shocked” by the midterm election results, adding that she did not expect the nationwide shift toward Democrats would be as large as it was, but she said she’s “so happy” about the results.
“It’s great that you see a much more diverse group of people being elected,” she added.
Across the nation, voters elected several candidates who are historic firsts, including the country’s first Black female governor, first Native American female governor and first Muslim U.S. senator.
Azlyn Haley ’28 said she was happy to see that, in addition to the general shift left, there was also a leftward shift within demographic groups such as younger voters.
“I also think there were a lot of really strong candidates in this election … that people could really get excited about and stand behind,” she added.
Finn Kehoe ’29 voted “straight blue” via mail-in ballot in his home state of Georgia. “I was expecting obviously (a) blue victory, but I thought the scale of it was impressive,” he said, adding that it was “crazy” that Democrats flipped a South Carolina Senate seat.
“I think that people are really unhappy and upset with how our current government is run and the choices being made,” Keita said.
Kehoe emphasized that tangible change is necessary “to continue the momentum” of the midterm results. “I hope that this will be one of the first of many blue waves,” he said. But he noted that if voters do not see a significant change between a Republican-led government and a Democratic one, they might wonder “‘why did we even vote for these people?’”
Matthew To ’30 echoed this sentiment. “The first step is obviously putting the right people in the positions of power,” he said. “But the second part is, we still desire change, and just because there’s different people doesn’t mean that change exists yet.
Although Max Ekstein ’30 said he was “pretty happy” with the results, he added that he expects seats to flip back and forth in the years to come. “We have a tendency to blame those in power for whatever inconveniences we go through,” he said, but “change takes … at least two to three years to take effect.”
Some students are hopeful that the election results will positively impact the Brown community.
To said the results can help show students that even the outcomes we expect — such as Texas always going red — “can be changed with the power of our voice, our vote.”
“We do have power in these elections,” To added.
Gui Sequeira ’28 is hopeful that the election outcomes “(inspire) more advocacy and more leadership from college students at Brown and colleges in general.”
“After the presidential elections, it kind of felt like it was all for nothing,” Sequeira said, but now “it feels like a change is actually possible.”
Rachel Wicker is a senior staff writer covering affinity and identity. She is from Athens, Georgia and plans on concentrating in English on the nonfiction track and International and Public Affairs. Outside of writing, she enjoys reading books of any genre and doing yoga.
