After over a year of preparation and anticipation, the Baylor Democrats and the McLennan County Democratic Party came together at Poppa Rollo’s Pizza Tuesday evening to watch the presidential election finally unfold. However it did not go as they had expected.
Leaving their Trump piñatas intact, their celebratory cake barely touched and conversations gone silent, the two groups watched in disbelief as their campaign-long optimism faded. Despite most polls and predictions showing a clear path to victory for Hillary Clinton, she was defeated by Donald Trump.
“I’m extremely disappointed,” said Mary Mann, the Texas Democratic Women of Central Texas president. “When you put in this much work and wholeheartedly believe in something, it’s disappointing that so many other people just don’t understand.”
Trump’s acquisition of key states such as Florida, North Carolina and Ohio helped him recover electoral votes that Clinton received from larger states such as California. Additionally, Hillary Clinton’s failure to secure Florida and Ohio were two of the key differences between her loss and Obama’s victory in 2012.
Leaving the watch party in silent disbelief, many expressed fear and concern for the future.
“Trump has already started a global recession before he even begins,” said Medford, Ore., senior Micah Furlong, president of Baylor Democrats. “Canada’s immigration website is down because people are already trying to flee. This just doesn’t make any sense.”
After claiming the lead for the final stretch of the campaign season leading up to the election, Trump support surged the week prior to the election, flipping several key states including Florida and North Carolina from lean-Democratic to toss-up states.
The McLennan County Democratic U.S. House of Representatives candidate, Bill Matta, also faced defeat to incumbent Bill Flores by a margin of over 30 percent as
Republicans maintained control of the House of Representatives.
