Penn alumni ride the red and blue wave to victory in Tuesday's midterms

Penn students on campus watched with anticipation as election results showed the Democrats taking control of the House of Representatives and Republicans holding on to the Senate. Across the country, former Quakers running for office had plenty of reason to celebrate. 

In Pennsylvania, Penn alumni Mary Scanlon, Conor Lamb, and Matt Cartwright, all Democrats, won their respective races.

Lamb, who graduated from the College of Arts and Sciences in 2006 and from Penn Law School in 2009, won the U.S. House of Representatives seat for Pennsylvania's 17th Congressional District. The Hill called the race just before 10 p.m.

Lamb beat out three-term incumbent Rep. Keith Rothfus (R-Pa.) for the seat winning 56 percent of the vote. Lamb ran in what was formerly Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District, before Pennsylvania's redistricting earlier this year. Theirs was the only national race that pit two incumbents against each other.

Lamb shot to fame in March after winning a special elections race in Pennsylvania's 18th District. In the lead-up to that race, President Donald Trump made two appearances in the district, deriding Lamb as “Lamb the sham" and endorsing Lamb's opponent.

Philly.com called Scanlon's race just before 10 p.m. on Tuesday, declaring that the 1984 Penn Law graduate had won a seat in the House of Representatives for Pennsylvania's new 5th District.

Scanlon won 65 percent of the vote compared to Pearl Kim's (R) 35 percent, giving her a decisive victory in the only Pennsylvania race between two female candidates.

Scanlon won her Democratic primary election in May, beating out 2014 Penn Medicine graduate Molly Sheehan.

In an interview with The Daily Pennsylvanian in September, Scanlon said it was her first year at Penn that inspired her passion for helping the less fortunate in society. Currently, her political priorities include making college more affordable, decriminalizing marijuana, and rolling back the tax breaks implemented under the Trump administration.

1986 Law School graduate Matthew Cartwright also won his bid for a fourth term as a representative in the state's new 8th District.

The incumbent congressman received 55 percent of the vote, while John Chrin (R) was left with 45 percent, the New York Times reported.

Cartwright previously served on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee and the Natural Resources Committee. In 2013, Cartwright was sworn into his position after a 25-year career at a Scranton law firm.

1997 College graduate Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) also won his House election in New Jersey's 5th District.

Gottheimer's race was called just before 11 p.m. He won 55 percent of the votes, beating out rival John McCann's 44 percent. McCann, a fellow Penn alumnus, graduated from the Fels Institute of Government in 1995.

In addition to his Penn degree, Gottheimer holds a law degree from Harvard Law School and attended Oxford University through the Thorn Fellowship. To win his seat in 2016, Gottheimer beat seven-term incumbent Scott Garrett (R-N.J.) and has since been appointed as the co-chair of the Problem Solvers Caucus.

In Maryland, 1985 Wharton MBA graduate David Trone (D-Md.) won his House race in the state's 6th District. 

The New York Times reported Trone garnered 58 percent of the votes, as compared to the 39 percent of the votes cast for his opponent, Amie Hoeber (R).

As a co-owner of a national liquor store chain, Trone became one of the wealthiest members of Congress, according to The Washington Post. Trone invested nearly $16 million in his own race, even more than he spent two years ago in a failed attempt to join Congress.

2004 Wharton graduate Trey Hollingsworth was one of the few Penn alumni running on the Republican ticket. Hollingsworth won Indiana’s 9th Congressional District, with 59 percent of the votes, beating out Democrat Liz Watson's 41 percent. 

Hollingsworth, who took office in 2017 at age 33, is currently one of Congress’ youngest members. He moved to Indiana a year before running for Congress in 2017 and described himself as a “businessman by trade” to the Indianapolis Star.

At Penn, Hollingsworth concentrated in both legal studies and business ethics and real estate.

In the south, 1969 Wharton MBA David Scott (D-Ga.) won his House seat in Georgia's 13th Congressional District. He won with 76 percent of the votes, beating competitor David Callahan (R) who had 24 percent of the votes.