The midterm elections brought about a momentous win for Republicans across the U.S. in both the Senate and the House, while in Pennsylvania, Republican Tom Corbett became the first Governor in modern state history to lose reelection.

Democrat Tom Wolf defeated incumbent Tom Corbett for the Pennsylvania governor seat with nearly 55 percent of the vote, making Corbett the first governor in the state to lose the bid for reelection since 1854.

According to Greg Pezza, a political science professor at Bucks, the most interesting part about Wolf’s win is “he bucked the national trend winning a major governorship as a Democrat.”

Corbett came under fire during his term for making major cuts to education funding. Wolf said he plans to restore needed funding to Pennsylvania schools by imposing a severance tax on gas extraction.

“I’d be interested to see what can get done in the way of taxing the natural gas industry while increasing funding for schools,” said Pezza.

Once in office, Wolf will work with a republican-controlled State House and Senate while attempting to deliver on many of his campaign promises.

“Wolf is relatively moderate and that the House and Senate realize that it’s less about political affiliation these days and more about distrust of government,” said Pezza. “I have a suspicion they’ll find a way to get a few things done.”

Wolf’s running mate, State Senator Mike Stack, will replace Lt. Governor Jim Cawley. Stack has considered maintaining his State Senate seat at the same time, but said he will not accept both salaries.

In the U.S. Senate, Republicans gained the seats necessary to give them control, making it the first time since 2006 that they’ve had control of both the House and the Senate. With one party in the majority, new compromises could bring an end to years of gridlock in Washington.

“I think the Republicans know that if they are viewed as mere obstructionists, they will not win the presidency in 2016. For this reason and for the reason that the President would like to be a bit more popular before the end of his presidency, I think they may find some common ground on some major issues,” said Pezza.

Republican incumbent Mike Fitzpatrick defeated Democratic challenger Kevin Strouse for the 8th Congressional District with an impressive 63 percent of the vote, making this Fitzpatrick’s 4th and final term in the U.S. House of Representatives.

“We think there’s still a lot of work to be done in the U.S. Congress and I think I still have a lot to add, a lot of work to do on your behalf,” said Fitzpatrick at a press conference held after the results were announced.

In a district where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by 3 percent, voters in Bucks and parts of Montgomery County might have gone with familiarity over party-affiliation.

“As the former Speaker of the House Tip O’neil once said, ‘all politics is local.’ Mike Fitzpatrick is a very familiar name in Bucks County and Strouse’s name is a relatively new one,” said Pezza.