The 2010 elections marked the 112th time in U.S. history that Americans went to the polls to elect representation at all levels of government. In all, they elected 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives, 37 members of the U.S. Senate, 37 governors and more than 6,100 state legislators. Anxious and frustrated voters made their voices heard this election cycle, engulfed in a gloomy national mood influenced by persistently high unemployment and a lackluster economic recovery. This was particularly ominous for incumbent Democrats given historical trends: In the past 110 years, the party that occupied the White House has lost seats at the state level in 25 of 27 elections. Exceptions were in 1934, amid FDR's New Deal, and in 2002, after the country rallied behind George W. Bush in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks. With any election comes policy ramifications. This paper summarizes the election's outcomes and discusses potential implications at the state and federal level for higher education. (Contains 3 endnotes.)