There was cause for celebration at O’Leary’s Restaurant & Pub, 260 E. Lincoln Highway, on Tuesday night. The NIU College Republicans met to watch midterm election coverage and cheer on the GOP.

The organization shared an upstairs room at O’Leary’s with John Acardo, who celebrated his victory in the DeKalb County Clerk and Recorder race.

“I’m not happy with what’s going on in Congress,” said Mac Belbis, junior exercise science major and College Republicans member.

Belbis and other members of the watch party gathered around a television showing CNN election coverage. The DeKalb County election results webpage was projected onto a wall and refreshed often.

Members of the College Republicans anxiously awaited the results of the U.S. Senate race between Mark Kirk (R) and Alexi Giannoulias (D), which Kirk won.

“It’s a great victory,” said Nick Wians, College Republicans Second Vice Chairman and senior geography major.

College Republicans in attendance agreed that change was necessary in both Springfield and Washington, and considered a variety of issues to be the most pressing.

“Jobs and the economy are the biggest issues,” said Josh Kreft, College Republicans Chairman and senior business administration major.

Wians wanted to see President Obama’s healthcare bill “repealed and replaced,” and thought unemployment in Illinois was a big issue.

“We need to get people back to work,” he said.