Mary MacIntire
Staff Writer
On Election Day last Tuesday, many ESU students exercised their right to vote at the polls.
“I felt happy and prideful when I voted,” said Hope DeFazio, a senior English major. “I felt like I did my civic duty as an American.”
After the votes had been counted, Donald Trump came in the lead and will be re-elected as the 47 President of the United States. With 312 electoral votes in total, Kamala Harris fell behind with 226.
Along with the President elect, the Senate majority was also won by Republican candidates, as well as the states who elected Governors. The majority for House seats is still awaiting all votes to be determined, however, Republicans are ahead by 11 votes.
“I am happy with the results,” says DeSean-Devonte Chin, a junior political science major. “Whether the Republican Party has an ulterior motive in taking freedoms away from Americans or not, I feel as though it is a call to action for communities across the United States of America to vote in their local elections and to immerse themselves in their community and state politics.”
However, not all students were satisfied with the results.
“This election does come as a shock,” says Blaise Puscavage, a senior communications major. “Though I understand many of us are struggling under the current economic state of the country, I can’t help but feel like we abandoned are values in favor of a startling shift of the political state of this country.”
The majority of Pennsylvania voted Republican, making it a “red” state. According to statistics from Ballotpedia, from 2000 to 2020, the state has only voted Republican 16.7 percent of the time.
“I was unaware of this statistic, however, it’s not that shocking to hear,” said Puscavage. “With the connections from the White House to Pennsylvania, being mainly Joe Biden during that time, it doesn’t surprise me.”
Others were not surprised when it came to the results of the election either.
“I predicted Trump would win for a host of reasons,” said Professor of History department Dr. Christopher Brooks of the history department. “What convinced me that, despite his flaws, Trump would win was Harris not clearly articulating her policy positions. She seemed to be more focused on vibes, on feelings. The majority of American voters – black, brown, male, female, etc. – seemed to say with their vote that vibes are a nice starting point, but they do not lower grocery prices or pay people’s bills.”
The steady lead Trump had on election night was not always clear for some swing states like Pennsylvania that at times appeared it would be blue. According to Monroe County Election Results, voters were nearly 50/50 when it came to Republican and Democratic candidates.
“I am surprised, however, that Susan Wild (PA-7th) actually lost,” Dr. Brooks said of the Democratic candidate for the House of Representatives in Pennsylvania’s seventh district. “Then again, her vilification of voters in Carbon County only fueled that county’s electorate voting 33 percent+ in the other direction.”
Next up is Inauguration Day on January 20. This is when Trump will officially be sworn in as president. Until then, Dr. Brooks had some hopes for the two political parties in America.
“My hope is that all Americans will work towards consensus. To achieve that end the spiteful, hateful, misleading rhetoric…Positive messaging (what party A can do for the people, etc.) needs to be the majority approach. Factions on both sides will need to stop finger pointing and work on the common and much needed task of healing the nation.”