Election day in the United States was November 8, 2016. Hundreds of millions turned out to vote for candidates in a number of key races across the nation. One of the key issues handed over to the voters was to decide who is to succeed President Barack Obama as the 45th President of the United States.

In an unprecedented victory, New York real estate developer Donald Trump won the presidency with 306 electoral votes, compared with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s 232.

This election was the culmination of a bruising 18 month campaign, in which insults and provocative statements were thrown around like no other election in recent history. Notable moments from the campaign trail included Secretary Clinton categorizing half of Trump supporters as the “basket of deplorables” and President-Elect Trump calling Secretary Clinton a “crooked” and “nasty woman.” The level of insults led to USA Today publishing an entire article as a “comprehensive guide” to all of the insults over the   course of a   single week.

While winning according to the U.S. constitution, President-Elect Trump was  defeated in the nationwide popular vote. At press time, Secretary Clinton was leading the President-Elect by over two million votes, with more votes to be counted.

This   discrepancy has led to frustrated Americans taking to the streets to voice their anger. In Portland, Oregon, the peaceful protests soon devolved into riots. Students at schools and colleges, including Kennedy High School in Cedar Rapids, walked out of their classes to protest Trump’s electoral victory. “I’m not happy with who won, but there’s no point protesting something you can’t change,” senior Lucas Miller said.

Several Xavier students had the opportunity to vote for the first time. Senior Ryan Jasper was one of these students casting their first ballot.

“I am pleased with the election results,” Jasper said. “I don’t necessarily support Donald Trump, but I think he has the potential to improve our nation.”

However, president was not the only office on the ballot on November 8. All 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives were up for reelection. In the race for the First District of Iowa, Congressman Rod Blum squarely defeated his Democratic challenger, Monica Vernon, to secure a second term in Washington, D.C. The First District is a Democratic leaning district that twice voted for President Obama. Despite that fact, Congressman Blum was able  to come   out with 53.7% of the vote, surpassing Vernon’s 46.3%. In the races  for  the rest of Iowa’s House seats, Democrat Dave Loebsack and Republicans David Young and Steve King all won their reelection campaigns in the Second, Third, and Fourth Districts, respectively.

In addition, Republican Senator Chuck Grassley was reelected to his seventh term, defeating Democratic challenger Patty Judge 60% to 35%.

All of  these  election night victories will result in Republican majorities in the House and in the Senate when the 115th Congress convenes in January 2017. In addition, Congressional Republicans will also have the pen of a Republican President to sign their new measures into law.

Despite recount efforts currently underway in Wisconsin and the prospect of similar efforts in other states, it is unlikely that the outcome of the election will change.