Election Night Was a Good One for Business Leaders
Last night, Americans took to the polls and voted, and the results were clear: this is a good year for Republicans. The GOP took back the Senate and strengthened its hold in the House of Representatives, setting up two years of divided government leading up to the 2016 Presidential elections.
Last week, Fortune took a look at some of the people with prominent business ties who were running for office, and some of the ballot initiatives that would have a big impact on business. So, how did they do?
On the whole, pretty well.
In Arizona, former Coldstone CEO Doug Ducey, a Republican, was elected to the governorship. Ducey won comfortably, taking nearly 54% of the vote. Down in Florida, meanwhile, sitting Republican governor Rick Scott, formerly CEO of Columbia Hospital Corporation, won reelection with just 48% of the vote. Former Dollar General CEO David Perdue won his election to the Senate as a Republican in Georgia, while founder of Capital Cellular, early Nextel investor and sitting Democratic Senator Mark Warner won a closer-than-expected election in Virginia.
The only loser from our guide was Democrat Mary Burke, a former executive at Trek, a bicycle company founded by her family. Burke lost her bid to take down sitting Republican Governor Scott Walker in Wisconsin.
In terms of ballot initiatives, it was almost a clean sweep for “yes.” Pot legalization passed in Oregon and Washington, D.C., and a yes vote was lately looking likely in Alaska, although a medical marijuana initiative failed in Florida. Minimum wage hikes were approved in Arkansas, Alaska, South Dakota and Nebraska, with a non-binding resolution also passing in Illinois. Massachusetts passed an initiative requiring paid sick leave.
