Nine of New Jersey’s 12 congressional districts were won by incumbents this year, and of the three open seats, only one district was seen as competitive going into Election Day.

In the heavily gerrymandered districts, usually the most important elections are during the primaries, which just makes general elections mandate-affirming exercises. However, in New Jersey, nearly half of the electorate is locked out of the closed primary process because they choose not to affiliate with the Republican and Democratic parties.

Californians voted on 6 statewide propositions on Election Day, three of which were approved by a majority of voters: Propositions 1, 2, and 47. Propositions 45, 46, and 48 did not pass.

Proposition 1: Passed

Prop. 1 is a $7.5 billion water bond for California’s water system.

In the race to represent the Silicon Valley, Democratic U.S. Representative Mike Honda is poised to defeat Democratic challenger Ro Khanna in a very close race for California's 17th Congressional District.

Backed by big donors in the Silicon Valley, Khanna ran on the platform that the tech-driven community needed a new perspective to better represent industry needs. Backed by the Democratic Party, Honda touted his experience as his main advantage over the 38 year-old hopeful.

Republican Carl DeMaio is holding on to a very slight lead in the extremely tight race for California's 52nd Congressional District in San Diego. He is ahead of one-term U.S. Rep. Scott Peters (D) by less than one percentage point.

One hundred percent of precincts have reported in, but according to the county registrar, approximately 180,000 mail and provisional ballots have not been counted.

Georgian voters have re-elected Republican Nathan Deal to be their governor. He won 53 percent of the vote (with 98% of precincts reporting in), defeating Democrat Jason Carter, who only received 44 percent of the vote.

Voters also elected Republican David Perdue to the U.S. Senate, who won 54 percent of the vote (with 96% of precincts reporting), defeating Democrat Michelle Nunn. Perdue will replace retiring Republican Senator Saxby Chambliss and will be entering a GOP-majority

It is hard to believe that in Massachusetts, a state that has voted for the Democratic candidate in the last 7 presidential elections and doesn't have a single Republican representing it in Congress, a Republican could win in a statewide race. However, on Tuesday, November 4, Republican Charlie Baker defeated Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley (D) in an extremely tight race to become the next governor of the commonwealth.

Measure 90, Oregon's top-two open primary initiative, came up short on Tuesday, November 4. According to the Oregon secretary of state, with 73 percent of precincts reporting, the measure failed to pass with nearly 67 percent of votes against it and 33 percent in favor.

The ballot initiative would have replaced Oregon's closed partisan primary system with primary elections open to all voters and candidates.

Republican incumbent Sen. Pat Roberts held on to his seat against independent Greg Orman on Tuesday, November 4.

Exit poll demographics showed that Orman clearly won the independent and liberal votes, and equally lost the conservative vote. Orman won the younger vote, while Roberts won the 44 and older vote. Orman was slightly more popular with women than Roberts.

In Kansas, U.S. Senator Pat Roberts has focused the message of his campaign not on issues or his record, but on his opponent, independent Greg Orman. Specifically, his campaign has been defined by a continuous stream of negative ads characterizing Orman as a Harry Reid Democrat hiding as an independent.

The second-term midterm is notorious for causing trouble for the party in the White House. As election coverage continues on Election Day, the term “within the margin of error” is being heard more in reference to last minute polls. Congressional elections may determine the future balance of power for lawmakers, but gubernatorial races may prove to be more competitive.