On Tuesday, November 3rd the Morris Knolls School Wide Mock Election was sent out to the student body. In this mock election, 462 students submitted a response. 53.5% voted for Cory Booker, the Democratic candidate, making him the winner of the senate race in the mock election. The Republican nominee, Rikin “Rik”  Mehta received 39.4% of the vote. The remaining votes went primarily to the Green Party candidate, with a few votes for Daniel Burke, a member of the LaRouche Was Right Party, and Veronica Fernandez, a member of the Of, By, For! Party.

Likewise, within the state election, Cory Booker won the position in the senate. 57.2% of the state voted for Cory Booker and the republican candidate received 40.9% of the vote. Morris County also went democratic, but by a smaller margin than the entire state. In Morris County, 50.2% voted for Cory Booker and 48.5% voted for Rik Mehta. 

Before becoming a senator, Booker was the mayor of Newark from 2006 to 2013. During his time as mayor, he made many beneficial contributions to the city, including contributing to a period of large economic growth, an overall decrease in crime, and an increase in educational opportunities for the city. Cory Booker first became a  senator in 2013; this was a special election as a result of the sitting senator’s death. In 2014 Cory Booker was re-elected, to serve the full 6-year term. As a senator, he has become well known for his work towards improving the current criminal justice system. On February 1, 2019, he announced his presidential campaign; however, he later dropped out of the race and endorsed the current President-elect, Joe Biden.

Although the New Jersey senate race has come to a close, there are many seats still uncalled, like in Georgia where the voting for this senate seat ends on January 5th. Both the Democratic and Republican Parties are hoping for the majority of the senate and the results of the senate races will dictate the balance of power between the two parties. 

Nikita Nair, a junior at Morris Knolls who volunteered for the Mikie Sherrill election campaign, said “It’s likely going to be a Republican majority senate which would make it difficult for Biden’s administration to reflect his own values. From a republican point of view, this is a pretty good scenario because no matter how powerful the president may be globally, they can’t do much locally with a senate actively fighting against them so it would be a pretty good balance despite a major loss. However from a liberal perspective, Biden is already quite moderate and some even call him a ‘glorified centrist.’ This combined with the very conservative supreme court and a possible red senate would put an end to the progressive movement. It’s a pretty high stakes election overall.”

Many people only pay attention to the presidential election, but it is important to stay aware of the senate and other more local elections because their outcome plays a huge role in shaping the country and community you live in.