All eyes tonight will be on the election, but when the votes are in and President Barack Obama or Mitt Romney is announced the victor, Congress will still be locked in an ideological gridlock that neither candidate will be able to break through easily.

“For the next two years it is very probable that Congress will remain in deadlock. Regardless of who wins the presidency this means there will be few possibilities for real change,” PolicyMic reported.

Should Obama be re-elected he will have to deal with a Republican House which has shown no signs of voting more favorably towards the president’s policies. Should Romney be elected, he will have to deal with a Senate that remains under Democratic control.

SEE ALSO: Red Votes In A Blue State

Based on the extremely close presidential race and the likelihood that the majority party in the Senate will be nowhere near a filibuster-proof majority, the incoming president will not have much of a mandate, NPR reported:
“Neither candidate nor party appears likely to win the kind of decisive victory that would allow them to set the course for the months and years ahead.”

Obama and Romney have lately suggested that they will work to pursue a more bi-partisan path if elected, the The Boston Globe reported:

“Romney in the closing days of the general election campaign has pledged to work in bipartisan fashion in Washington and cut deals with Democrats on big issues. He cites his work in the Massachusetts State House, where he dealt with a Democratic Legislature….And Obama recently predicted that the threat of automatic spending cuts set to take effect at the end of the year will spur greater cooperation and a deal on big fiscal questions next year.”

However, many political analysts feel that the candidates are oversimplifying their ability to work together with congress to get policy passed.

SEE ALSO: Little Changed Is Expected In The House Of Representatives

“…There is so much ideological division that you will have to risk your political life to get something done in the next Congress," Republican strategist Terry Holt told the Times-Herald. "It is an all-or-nothing proposition y virtue of the divided nature of the country. You have to stick your neck out if you're to get anything done."

James Paulsen, chief investment strategist with Wells Capital Management told the San Francisco Gate that because of this he did not expect that outcome of the election to have a large impact on the stock market.

"If you thought one party was going to win a triple crown victory and control all three pillars of government - that would be very significant," Paulsen said.

Doyl McManus, a reporter for the Los Angeles Times, said the current political environment does not promise much in terms of decisive action going forward.

SEE ALSO: Top Three Senate Races For Tonight

“We’re in strange political times. The only clear mandate from the electorate is to end the partisan divide, but that seems to be the one message our political leaders can’t hear. Both sides take the narrowest of wins as a clear mandate for their most extreme views. They’re all for compromise, as long as it’s the other side doing the compromising,” he said.

 

Reach Staff Reporter Jackie Mansky here.

Read more of Neon Tommy's election night coverage here.