THE
BLUE &GRAY
THE UNIVERSITY OF MARY WASHINGTON STUDENT NEWSPAPER
NOVEMBER 6, 2014
VOLUME 88 | ISSUE 9
PRESS
DEMOCRACY IN ACTION: 2014 MIDTERMS
SERVING THE COMMUNITY SINCE
1922
• Ed Gillespie and Mark
Warner still battling for Virginia
• Rob Wittman takes the 1st Congressional District
• GOP takes House & Senate • District of Columbia legalizes marijuana
• Multiple states vote in favor of raising minimum wage
• Females now occupy 101
43
SENATE
2 INDEPENDENT
DEMOCRATIC
179
DEMOCRATIC
HOUSE
Paint it red: midterm elections serve as big win for Republicans HOPE RACINE News Editor
One of the most dramatic midterm elections in recent years came to a close Tuesday night, resulting in a massive shift of political control in Washington. Both the Senate and the House of Representatives now lay firmly in Republican hands after Republican candidates seized at least seven of the six necessary seats to take the Senate majority. Their grasp on the House was reaffirmed as well, with current results coming in at 243 Republican seats to 175 Democratic seats. Some states saw very tight races, such as the Virginia senatorial race, where Democratic incumbent Mark Warner holds around a 16,000 vote lead over Republican Ed Gillespie. Though Warner gave a victory speech on Tuesday night, as of Wednesday Gillespie had still not conceded. AP called the race too close to officially call at the time of publication for The Blue &
IN THIS
ISSUE
Gray Press. Virginia does not have an automatic recount law, though candidates can request a recount if the race comes within one percent. However, if there is more than a 0.5 percent difference, the candidate requesting the recount must pay for it themselves. Warner’s lead serves as a stand out in the otherwise purple Virginia, which saw Republican representatives picking up victories in many districts. In the First Congressional District, which encompasses part of the city of Fredericksburg, as well as parts of Caroline, Spotsylvania and Stafford counties, among thirteen others, Republican incumbent Rob Wittman pulled in almost thirty percent more of the vote than his main challenger, Democrat Norm Mosher. However, some states will not be determined for quite some time. Alaska, which is notoriously slow to report results, has still not called their election, and Louisi •MIDTERMS | 2
seats in Congress
52
REPUBLICAN
REPUBLICAN
243
Senate Warner meets pre-election with students in new ITCC WARNER | 2
UMW Young Democrats After the meeting, the UMW Young Democrats presented Senator Mark Warner with a club t-shirt.
CARVING CURES
TURN OUT
FOREVER YOUNG
Annual event brings Halloween spirit for good cause
Ukranian election ethics sparks international debate
Teagan Young captures CAC title
LIFE | 6
VIEWPOINTS | 5
SPORTS | 12