Gathered for friendly debate, the College Democrats and the College Republicans joined together Tuesday to host a watch party for the mid-term elections.

Students kept the mood light in what would otherwise be a serious setting by watching their favorite professors play games like pin the tail on the donkey while waiting for the results to roll in one state at a time.

The Democratic Party was able to retain control of the Senate after winning key races in Arizona and Nevada while also flipping a Republican seat in Pennsylvania. As of November 12, the seats leaned towards Democrats 50-49. The last seat will be decided via a run-off in Georgia.

The U.S. House of Representatives is now leaning more towards the red party with 211 seats filled by the Republicans and 202 filled by the Democratic party. History was made in this election in many ways with winning candidates such as Wes Moore, the first African American governor of Maryland, and Maxwell Frost who, at only 25, is the first Gen-Z member to win a seat in Congress.

Bryant Breksa, a freshman chemistry major who attended the watch party emphasized the importance of voting for college students.

“If we don’t vote, we are not going to be represented, and if we do not take the opportunity to represent ourselves, we cannot be mad when our views are not highlighted in the Senate,” Breksa said.

Assistant professor Jennifer Dumas said that the friendly debate was why the College Democrats and Republicans had this event together, even though there was a difference in beliefs. She said it was important to stay “by-partisan” to allow these conversations to happen among students and went on to say, “It is important that everyone feels welcome here.”

President Biden credits Democratic victories with a “historic” turnout by younger voters. While the number of voters under 30 did not surge, their impact did. According to CNN, Democratic candidates won voters under 30 by a 28-point gap, up from 26 points two years ago.

While both parties will be back to the drawing board, college-aged voters proved how essential they are to winning an election.