Contributions from Lee Beck, Astor Powell-Pederson, Jackson Roberts & Kam Schindewolf-Broyles

This piece was written on Election Day, Nov. 5. The exact final results of the Presidential election are not known. This piece details student thoughts, reactions and concerns, all recorded on Election Day.

Just past 11 p.m. on Election day, Former President Donald Trump claimed victory on stage at Mar-a-Lago with his wife Melania, his running mate JD Vance, and his sons Baron and Don Jr.

“This will truly be the golden age of America,” Trump said as he thanked his voters, claiming his victory to be the “Greatest political movement of all time.”

After coming off a debate appearance in July that had President Joe Biden polling six points below former President Donald Trump – the 2024 presidential election seemed to be over already. Fast-forward to today – election day – and Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris led the morning, leading the national polls by 1.2% according to 270towin.com. 

Trump, running for the third time in eight years, hopped out to an early lead in swing states Georgia, briefly polled-as-blue Iowa, North Carolina and Ohio. Following his two-hour-plus final rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan on Nov. 4 – where he has ended all three of his campaigns – a Trump win at 11 p.m. on election night seems like a reality. 

However, the race is still up for grabs in key swing states Arizona, Nevada, Michigan and Pennsylvania. The 2020 election between current President Joe Biden and Former President Donald Trump was not called until four days after Election Day on Saturday, Nov. 7. 

At 11:07 p.m. on election day, and throughout the night, this was the pulse of the Central Washington University body. 

This election for women

“[I’m] absolutely terrified for my kiddo’s future, my own aside,” – Instagram user.

“The most pressing issue for me was women’s bodies, their rights mainly,” Alexander Reid-Whitefoot, freshman evolutionary biology and ecology major, said. “I have two younger sisters and my mom.” 

Of the issues at hand, women’s rights have been atop the mind of many voters. On a poll run by The Observer, 80% of voters said human rights were the issue most important to them on election day (Education followed in second with 9%, trailed by the economy and immigration with 4% and 3% respectively). 

“I’m definitely the most concerned about reproductive health because as a black woman, unfortunately we are considered the lowest of the low. And because I have the right to vote, it’s my time to use it.” First year political science student Nuhamin Regassa said.

This sentiment is echoed not only by students at Central, but older women around Kittitas County who remember the power that voting has held for women in the past.

“When I first started voting … women couldn’t have their own bank account, couldn’t get a mortgage, couldn’t get a checking account without their husband’s signature,” Charli Sorenson, president of the League of Women’s Voters of Kittitas County, said. “All of that has changed due to voting. So I really hope that this election strengthens our democracy and encourages younger generations to be more involved in elections, because they’re the ones that have to live with the results. So it’s better to have your hand in the game than just to be sitting on the outside.”

In a state like Texas, which has altered its abortion laws following the appeal of Roe v. Wade, the maternal mortality rate rose by 56% percent from 2019 to 2022. Women, like Sorenson, feel that they have lost autonomy over their own body and would hope to regain it under a Harris presidency, as she has said one of her top priorities in office would be to “Stop this pain” and put Roe v. Wade back in place. 

“I think pretty clearly it means we would hopefully get our own agency back and be able to control what we do with our own bodies,” Sorenson said about what a Harris win would mean for women. “[I] sincerely hope that Harris would support a national abortion access. It’s really interesting, because I spent 20 years in medicine, and people don’t understand that the term abortion is a medical term, and it means any failed pregnancy. It could be a miscarriage, a spontaneous abortion. That’s what a miscarriage is. It could be an abortion because of a fetal demise, but it’s not just for some reason. People on the extreme right seem to think abortion is a term for birth control, when by large percentage, that’s not how it’s used by any women.”

This election for the LGBTQ+ community

“I’m scared to get my rights stripped away and I just became an adult.” – Instagram user. 

Donald Trump has spent over 10 million dollars on anti-transgender ads in battleground states, according to CBSNews. One that has consistently aired during NFL games ends with the slogan “Kamala is for they/them, Trump is for you.” The Trump campaign website states that it will keep men out of women’s sports and prevent tax-payer dollars from funding sex-change operations.

The Harris campaign website had no explicit policy in regards to transgender rights before election day, but has said in the past that the fight for equal rights is “patriotic” and her running mate, Tim Walz, has been historically pro-LGBTQ+.

“I am a non-binary lesbian. I am fully in the LGBTQ comunity, and I would like to have rights in the next four years…” Kaybe Write, freshman graphic design major, said. “If Trump wins, my family is like, ‘We might need to leave the country.’”  This is something that you would think no one would have to deal with, instead it has to be a constant thought running through someone’s head depending on tonight’s outcome.

This elections impact on the genocide in Gaza

“Regardless of the outcome we need to speak out against genocide,” – Instagram user.

“The genocide going on in Gaza that’s been going on for such a long time now,” Write said. “I just remember seeing… all the social media covering a lot of it, especially over on Tik Tok. I would watch all of those and just be horrified. I really want it to end over there.”

Both the Trump and Harris campaigns were consistently in support of Israel throughout this election season, and defended the U.S.’ continued financial and militarized reinforcement of Israel.

Trump’s stance on the conflict has been unwavering. In an interview with the “Hugh Hewitt Show” on April 4 of this year, Trump said Israel has to “Finish what they started, and they’ve got to finish it fast.” During a speech in Washington DC at an anti-semitism event on Sept. 19, Trump also claimed that “My promise to Jewish Americans is this: With your vote, I will be your defender, your protector, and I will be the best friend Jewish Americans have ever had in the White House.” according to ABC News.

Harris has shown support for Israel in the past, however she seems to have had a fluctuating stance. According to NPR, in the same speech Harris said she “Will always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself, and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself.” Continuing that statement with “What has happened in Gaza in the past 10 months is devastating. So many innocent lives lost. The scale of suffering is heartbreaking.”

In her last rally in Michigan, Harris also claimed “As president, I will do everything in my power to end the war in Gaza.”

What does a Trump presidency mean for the economy, immigration and more

“Feels like 2016 all over again,” – Instagram user.

With the possibility of a second Trump presidency appearing to be a reality, people with issues like the economy and immigration at the top of their minds are vindicated. On The Observer’s instagram survey polling topics of interest, the two topics combined for 6% of the vote. 

“There wasn’t really anything that determined how I voted, but I think gas prices played a small part,” Peter Gard, third year English major, said. “And inflation and Trump’s sayings about how he’s going to decrease inflation. I haven’t really gotten any source for it. So I’m kind of coming off as a little biased here.”

“I definitely believe in secure borders right now,” Gus Kolibas, first year agricultural business major, said. “Whether you’re Democrat or Republican, I think we could both agree that we do not have a secure border. We have even seen Texas farmers putting up barricades along the border, along the rivers that go through there, and our government has gone there and lifted those borders. So we have illegals coming here. They are raping children and killing people. I know the construction of the wall was started, and then it was ended, and we have seen mass amounts of illegal aliens coming across the border, which is a major issue.” 

Kolibas also spoke about his worry in regards to his rights to own a gun. Despite Harris’ and Walz’s personal ownership of firearms, his worries persisted. 

“Talking about guns like being able to own a gun at 18, I want to keep it that way,” Kolibas said. “We know that [Harris] and Walz are both gun owners, but what they’ve talked about in the past with guns makes me worried I am going to lose my rights to own one. I believe that if someone comes into my house, then I have a right to defend my family.”

“I’m very pro-gun, I think people should have the right to bear arms,” Winston Block, freshman paramedicine major, said. “On the same note, I’m also pro-abortion because I think in the same line as gun rights, I don’t think the government gets to dictate what we get to do with our bodies, and what kind of weapons we get to own.” 

What’s next

“I’ve been stabbed and they haven’t taken out the knife,” – Instagram user.

The image of the Jan. 6 insurrection is still burned into the minds of students on campus. Following that, this election brings up questions of their own safety. Four students on a poll posted by The Observer on Instagram said that they were “Terrified.” Five said that they were “Scared.” 

For some students, this election brings up questions of their own safety. “Honestly, I do not [feel safe in the coming days].” Nuhamin Regassa, freshman political science student, said. “I don’t only because we saw what happened on January sixth. I’m afraid that, maybe not on campus, but on a national scale, something like that could happen again.” 

Many students foresee chaos in the coming days, regardless of the results of the election. “While we’re waiting for the result of this election, brace yourself,” Block said. “It’s not going to be pretty. We live in a time where political unrest has become increasingly the norm.” 

Block has hesitations no matter the outcome. “I’m not feeling hopeful either way,” Block said. “All the candidates are backed by the same special interest groups and lobbyists. And the same people who will be running the government today are going to be running the government tomorrow, regardless of who wins.”

“Tonight is definitely going to keep me up,” Regassa said. “The state of our country is what we should really be focusing on, especially if we’re trying to better our future. I am hopeful people will decide for the greater good.”