Sweeping changes are coming to Capitol Hill and several state houses next year.

Republicans gained control of the U.S. Senate last week, with a current net pickup of eight seats, and strengthened their control of the U.S. House of Representatives, picking up 10 seats. Additionally, they picked up four governorships, while the Democrats picked up one in Pennsylvania.

Among the newly elected Republican governors is Maryland’s Larry Hogan, who defeated Democrat Anthony Brown with 52 percent of last week’s votes.

Several CHS students are excited about the changes Hogan will bring to Maryland as governor.

“I think it’s a great chance to finally have a Republican governor,” senior Alex Romano said. “And I think that he could help stimulate our state’s economy.”

And while other CHS students were disappointed with last Tuesday’s results, some remain optimistic about the amount of damage Hogan will be able to do given that Maryland retained a Democrat-controlled state legislature.

“I don’t think Larry Hogan was the best choice for Maryland, but I’m hopeful that he and the state legislature will be able to work together and push forward some bipartisan legislation,” said senior and Young Democrats Club president Jackie Spang. “Maybe the rest of the U.S. can look to us for an example of an effective yet politically-different legislative body.”

No U.S. Senate seats were contested in Maryland this election cycle.

Notable House winners include Utah’s Mia Love, the first black Republican congresswoman. Maryland democratic Representative Chris Van Hollen was re-elected with 60 percent of the vote, and Democrat John Delaney defeated Republican challenger Daniel Bongino to win a second term in Congress.