The election held surprises and reflected issues important to voters, say ISU students and faculty.

Michael Dale, president of ISU College Republicans, said voter turnout was high nationwide.

Voters voiced their opinions on values they believe should be taken care of on the state and national level, he said.

The Republican gain of legislative control was a surprise to many. Democratic candidates across the country who were expected to win fared much worse than expected.

James McCormick, professor and chairman of political science, said credit should be given to President Bush for making a difference in the close races by increasing party base and picking up independent voters.

Jerry Garcia, assistant professor of history, said that historically, the Republican party should have lost seats due to the low economy.

“[Sept. 11, 2001] resonates with people,” he said. “It makes it easy to not blame the political party [in control].”

Brian Anderson, Iowa State Libertarians president and senior in horticulture, said people who like President Bush want to elect people who will support his issues and agenda.

Dianne Bystrom, director of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women in Politics, agreed.

The Republican party will now be able to put forth their agenda with less gridlock from opposing-party members, she said.

“[Voters will] measure later whether the agenda was successful and gained public support,” Bystrom said.

The support Iowa showed to incumbents was overwhelming, she said.

“Voters, overall, were in a 9/11 postscript,” said Bystrom. “When people are nervous they stick with the status quo.”

Dale, sophomore in pre-business, said he feels many benefits will come from having a Republican majority. He predicts the economy will go up, there will be a tax cut for the working class and jobs will be created through government legislation.

Matt Denner, president of the ISU chapter of Campus Greens, said he thinks a Republican majority will lead to legislation that doesn’t represent the majority of Americans. Denner, junior in political science, said Greens didn’t get the voter support they expected for their candidates.

“We are excited there are a lot of Greens voting in the state,” he said. “If those Greens help to organize [for the next election] we’ll see greater results.”

Tuesday’s election reflected large strides in female leadership, Bystrom said.

There are now six female governors in the United States, she said.

“It’s been a struggle to elect women in Iowa,” said Jill Bystydzienski, professor of cross-disciplinary studies.

Fifty-nine women will hold seats in the U.S. House and there will be 13 women in the U.S Senate, she said.

The numbers may seem small, but many women have been running against each other. One of the candidates must lose, so women don’t gain seats by large numbers, Bystydzienski said.

Garcia said Gov. Tom Vilsack was the only candidate to show concern for Latino groups in Iowa.

Hector Avalos, associate professor of religious studies, said a great number of Latinos in America are not registered to vote.

Approximately 20,000 of the 80,000 Latinos in Iowa are registered to vote.

— CNN contributed to this story.