For people globally, the 2024 presidential race was both hopeful and fear-inducing. As votes were counted, people in Athens County watched from bars on Court Street, residence halls on Ohio University’s campus and anywhere else with an internet connection, bracing for any result.
When President-elect Donald Trump officially won at around 3 a.m., some students and locals woke up to texts from family members and anxiety-filled social media feeds.
“I actually woke up to my roommate sobbing, so that was really scary,” Chloe Gatoo, a freshman studying human biology, said.
The hope of having a new face in the Oval Office kept many people hopeful as they watched the election unfold in real-time.
“I think that’s what I was kind of holding on to for hope, just that it’d be really, really amazing to be in the same time (as) the first female president,” Angela Rodriguez, a freshman studying marine biology, said. “But then it's like, waking up that morning and finding out the hard reality.”
Trump won with 312 Electoral College votes, flipping several battleground states President Joe Biden swept in 2020, according to Politico.
Trump carried Ohio comfortably with 55% of the vote. Athens County stayed blue, giving Vice President Kamala Harris 54% of its votes; however, this is a notable decrease from the 56.7% Biden won in Athens, according to Politico.
“I think democrats need to do a better job of talking about the progress that they have made for working families and the things that they have done to fight for working families and to work on all of these price increases,” Lauren Dikis, the Athens Democratic Party chair, said.
In the Southeast Ohio region, voters swung heavily toward Trump. The region’s majority demographic, white working-class families who are not college-educated, was a winning group for the now president-elect.
However, Dikis said issues such as housing costs and grocery prices, which are particularly important to working-class voters, are likely to get worse under Trump.
“In this upcoming Trump administration, we need to be watchful of the things that he does and how it affects each of our individual pocketbooks,” Dikis said. “I think that the tariffs he is proposing will not be good for Athens or Southern Ohio, and we'll have to talk about that with folks.”
Students noted several reasons to be anxious about Trump taking office, such as his disdain for left-leaning social policies, like diversity, equity and inclusion training.
Rodriguez, who is a member of the LGBTQIA+ community with family in the military, said she has lots to be troubled about in regards to Trump taking office.
“It was scary because my brother just went into active duty,” Rodriguez said. “Not being sure what Trump's going to do with the military and having a girlfriend, too. It's just like just layers on layers, like, ‘Oh God.’”
In Athens, where a student population makes up a large portion of the vote, the recent election rule changes have been particularly troubling to Dikis.
“Republicans have really worked to make it harder for people to vote,” Dikis said. “Republican Secretary (of State) Frank Larose has dedicated efforts to purging voters from the rolls … and the state legislature making it more difficult for people to vote, requiring people to show state ID in order to vote. I think that that is something that has hurt people, and particularly students' ability, to vote as well.”
Despite these changes, Dikis said the Athens County Democratic Party plans on continuing its advocacy and voting registration drives on OU’s campus in the coming years.
“I think one thing that has happened is that less students have been voting in Athens, and that may be because some of them are voting at home,” Dikis said. “I do think that continuing to help raise awareness on campus about how important voting is will be part of (getting more votes).”
Dikis said upcoming local elections, such as city council elections and county-wide elections, will help keep Democratic voters in the county engaged.
Even as things become potentially chaotic, Rodriguez said staying positive is important over the next four years for young voters who were unhappy with the results.
“The only thing you really can do is just stay hopeful, advocate, spread the word, educate yourself,” Rodriguez said. “It's okay to process it and go through it and do whatever you need to do, but at the same time, you don't want that kind of dread to go on to the future.”
Among OU students, some may feel despondent because of the results, Emma Schroer, a freshman studying commercial photography, said. However, she said young people need to continue using their voices.
“Now in future elections, it's more important than ever for the younger generation to get out there and educate themselves and to vote; this is how we get our voices heard,” Schroer said. “A lot of people are disappointed, but use this disappointment and let that guide you through the next four years, so then hopefully your voice will be heard.”
