Late into the evening Nov. 5, Ohio University students gathered across town to witness history in the making. From Baker University Center, located at 1 Park Place, to The Pigskin, located at 38 N. Court St., watch parties of the incoming 2024 election results hosted students and community members of varying political leanings and expectations.
Esme Miranda, a senior studying political science pre-law and women’s, gender and sexuality studies, spent the early hours of the night watching the tally of Ohio’s presidential votes before the state was called in favor of former President Donald Trump at approximately 10:45 p.m., according to AP News.
“I had hope that maybe (Ohio) could have turned blue because I was hoping a bunch of Gen Z people would have voted, and they probably did, but maybe not in the way I would have liked,” Miranda said.
Although Nathan Malz, a freshman studying history, anticipated Ohio would go red, he believed the final result of the presidential election remained unpredictable, even with a majority of states showing support for the Republican candidate after a few hours of ballot-counting.
“It’s going to be really close,” Malz said. “Honestly it’s really kind of a coin flip, I think … I can’t tell if the lead right now could be just a red mirage or if it’s really a lead, it’s really hard to tell but it’s interesting.”
In such a close presidential race, Miranda had to realistically consider a future in which either candidate could take office.
“I’m scared and anxious because it could really impact me as a queer, trans, non-binary person, and with how Trump speaks about trans people and the queer community it just doesn't look hopeful,” Miranda said.
Additionally, Miranda is concerned with the way the economy would be affected if the final result favors Trump.
“I feel like he just won’t help the working class at all,” Miranda said.
Malz attended a watch party hosted by The New Political in Baker University Center after following a number of local issues in Lake County, where he’s from, as well as the Senate race between Sherrod Brown and Bernie Moreno.
“I think the president has a lot of power over the Senate, nowadays especially,” he said. “I think if the Senate is red and Trump wins, then Trump will get a lot more done. If the Senate is red and Kamala wins, then she can’t get a lot done.”
Another attendee of the watch party Baker Center was Gavyn Caney, a junior studying exercise physiology. Caney arrived at the party with minimal prior knowledge about electoral issues, demonstrating how the gathering of election results can bring together community members of differing political involvement levels.
“Honestly, I just came down here … for the food and just for hanging out so I’m not really here as much for the politics,” Caney said.
As was the case in 2020, results of the presidential election may not arrive until later in the week. Although definitive predictions cannot be made regarding that particular outcome, Malz is sure of one thing.
“It’ll be a show,” he said.
