Source: The Washington Post / Getty

The dust is settling after the fervor of Election Day, and many of the marquee races of this cycle did not go in favor of the Democratic Party as many hoped. However, the Dems can boast one strong victory in regaining control of the House, and there are several interesting factors to look towards to for 2020’s presidential cycle.

Needing just 23 seats to regain control of the House of Representatives, among 24 to 32 seats will be picked up in the end once results are tallied up. By many observations made by experts, it was expected that the House would flip which will present challenges to the Republican-led Senate and President Donald Trump going forward. Many of the GOP’s aims, such as repealing the Affordable Care Act and other Obama-era policies important to Democrats can remain sufficiently defended or at least provide pushback on the administration’s plans.

The Democrats lost significant ground in the Senate, losing four seats in Texas, Missouri, Indiana, and North Dakota, with Ted Cruz emerging victorious in the Lone Star State against a candidate in Beto O’Rourke many would like to see run for president in 2020. The sobering reality of losing the four seats was offset by some big Democratic governer seats being won in Kansas, a notoriously red state with Laura Kelly defeating Kris Kobach.

In Wisconsin, the reign of Scott Walker will soon be over as Tony Evers won that big race. In all, the Democrats won six gubernatorial races. In Georgia, the fight for the seat rages on as results for the race between Stacy Abrams and Brian Kemp remain too close to call. For Floridians, Ron De Santis was able to secure enough votes to defeat the poised and prepared Andrew Gillum despite a few gaffes along the way by the Republican victor during their debates.

It is expected that Rep. Nancy Pelosi will be named the new Speaker of the House, and it will be an incredibly tough task as she has faced criticism from her party in the past. There is also the advent of young progressive voices now in the chamber, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez from New York, who became the youngest congresswoman in history at 29 years old. Ayanna Pressley also made history as the first Black woman elected as a congresswoman from the state of Massachusetts. The challenge for the House will be to come together in a mounting race for 2020 and steering the party back to prominence.

The election also proved the star power of Trump is effective on the campaign trail, which proved fruitful in the Senate pickups. However, it was never thought that a blue wave was a threat in the chamber and analysts mostly seem to agree that the chamber will push to confirm as many justices as possible and approve a Supreme Court justice in the chance a seat becomes open.

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Photo: Getty