By Meredith Pratt | Staff Writer
Election Day is here, and Republican voters have just one wish — that President Trump be reelected.
Although several polls have Biden ahead, many voters from both parties feel anxious about the election’s outcome. Trump has remained confident, saying at a press conference in Las Vegas on Oct. 28 that there will be a “great red wave.”
“I think on Tuesday, we’re going to over-perform,” Trump said.
Tenino, Wash., sophomore Charlie Letts, vice president of Baylor College Republicans, said that Trump winning with a significant lead is her dream scenario.
“I hope that Donald Trump wins the election convincingly,” Letts said. “It would show that people really do support him, and he has more support out there than the media gives him credit for.”
Letts said she also hoped Texas would “remain as Red as it has in the past.”
“I think that the narrative that Texas is turning Blue is not true,” Letts said. “The people moving into Texas from Blue states should realize that the reason Texas is so prosperous is because of Republican policies implemented in Texas.”
Confident in Texas’ loyalty to the Republican Party, Letts said she believes that “Texas is truly red.”
“It’s just a matter of making sure Republicans go out and vote,” Letts said. “I think Trump may win convincingly, because in 2016 he didn’t have as much support as he did today, and he still won. So, after people seeing what work he can get done in four years, I think more people will come out to vote for him.”
Part of Letts’ ideal outcome includes the Senate maintaining its Republican majority.
“I think Republicans will still have a majority,” Letts said. “Since many of the candidates running for senate are incumbents, I think they will be able to win back their seat since it is easier for the incumbent to win an election based on money and name recognition.”
An active member in Waco’s Republican scene, Letts said she regularly attends McClennan County Republican Party club meetings and McLennan County Republican Women meetings and has seen firsthand the impact they have on local elections.
“They both work so hard at keeping Texas a Republican state, and I believe with their work they certainly have — especially in keeping McLennan County red, which I believe will be reflected in this year’s election,” Letts said.
Letts said she wants the country to elect a Republican president because she believes in “limited government and American freedom.”
“I just think that Trump displays that more than Biden,” Letts said. “I want the economy to do as well as it was doing under Trump, and I know he can get it back to the way it was pre-COVID-19. And, I know my amendment rights, such as freedom of speech and right to bear arms, will be protected.”
Midland sophomore Porter Hankins, a Republican voter, said he too wants an overwhelming victory for Trump.
“My dream scenario would not only be that Trump wins, but that he wins … big.” Hankins said. “If Trump won big, I feel like that would just be very satisfying.”
Hankins also said he hopes Trump wins overwhelmingly in Texas.
“In a similar scenario, I hope he wins it big, so they see that, you know, Texas is not going to go blue,” Hankins said.
Hankins said he we was not “particularly worried” about the Senate race and said that he has not been as involved in keeping up with it.
“The Senate in Texas for some reason never has much of a problem staying Republican,” Hankins said.
Unlike Letts, however, Hankins said he is not 100% sure what will happen come election night.
“I’m nervous but hopeful. I think that’s the best way I would put it,” Hankins said. “I feel like it’s either going to be anti-climactic and the polls are going to be accurate and Biden will win … or it’ll be like 2016 and Trump will defy the polls.”
