“There were so many things going against (Republican presidential candidate John) McCain, given the economic problems the country faced, that I don’t think you could say they did all that badly,” said Paul Abramson, an MSU political science professor.

The Democrats expanded their Senate control from 51 to 56 seats and the House majority from 36 to 56 seats.

Still, Abramson said the majority isn’t great enough to silence the Republican Party.

“I think the Republicans still have the ability to slow down and stop some proposed legislation,” he said. “But the extent to which they will be willing to use their filibuster power remains to be seen.”

Matt Grossmann, an MSU assistant political science professor and national election expert, said just because the Democrats control the White House, Senate and House doesn’t mean Democrats will have complete control of policy. He said former President Bill Clinton began his presidency with a Democratic House and Senate but failed to push the health care reform he coveted.

State Rep. Rick Jones, R-Grand Ledge, was re-elected Tuesday and said politicians are cyclical. He added the incumbent party is generally in trouble when there is an unpopular war and a struggling economy.

“What occurred in this election was there was an Obama wave,” Jones said.

“There was great excitement and people went out and voted straight-ticket. That took out a couple incumbent congressmen.”

Abramson said the Republican Party needs to figure out which direction it wants to take. America is one of the more conservative democracies in the world, but Abramson said it is developing more liberal social values that don’t necessarily correspond with Republican Party ideology.

Grossmann said America has been socially conservative “for some time.” Although a shift toward more liberal values is occurring, he pointed to the success of California’s Proposition 8, which outlawed same-sex marriage, as evidence that the nation isn’t a bastion of liberal thought.

Grossmann said the Republican Party would be wrong to concentrate its efforts on altering its socially conservative platform because it could fracture the party base. The biggest concern — and arguably the most significant reason Obama won the election — are demographics such as Latino and young voters.

“You can’t lose (Latinos), the biggest increasing group in the electorate, and young voters by a two-to-one margin,” he said.

“Those are groups that will increase in future elections as young people age and retain their partisanship and (Latinos) grow in population.”