No matter how it turns out when the votes are counted, starting on November 6th, it’s likely that you will not have absorbed it all 24 hours after the first polls close. DFA will host a “first impressions” discussion about the 2018 election at its November meetup.
This is one you won’t want to miss. DFA members Bill Gilmartin and Leon Reed, both veterans of Capitol Hill, will host a lively discussion of what happened in the 2018 election and what these results suggest for the future. They will give factual reports on topics such as:
Which party will control the House and Senate?
Who won important races such as the Florida and Georgia governor’s races, the Texas Senate race, etc.?
How did George Scott and Brent Ottaway do in their races for Congress?
They will also analyze trends that could affect public policy in the next two years as well as future elections, such as:
What accounted for the election result? Was it turnout? Which categories of voters did or didn’t turn out? (If information is available, we will look in particular at key demographics such as young voters, suburban women, Latinos, white males over 50, and African American women).
Whichever party controls the House and Senate, what are the implications of this continuity or change in control? Who will chair key committees? What issues are they likely to pursue?
How did first-time women candidates do as a whole and what does this suggest about future elections?
All too often, network coverage neglects election returns at the state level. Yet the results in Harrisburg – and Madison, Tallahassee, Austin, Columbus, and Richmond – affect vital issues such as funding for schools, roads, and rural broadband; who’s eligible to vote; and, starting with the candidates elected this year, how election districts get drawn. DFA’s meetup will also report on vital state election results in Pennsylvania and around the country.
The November meetup will start at 7 pm on Wednesday, November 7 and will be held in Room 206 in Valentine Hall at United Lutheran Seminary.