As the 2024-2025 election wraps up, the people of America now have a future with former president Donald Trump. Early polling suggested that it was a very close race; however, Trump won by a landslide, securing 295 electoral votes, not counting some other states that he is leading in that are still counting. Many are surprised by the win in Pennsylvania, a state that would ultimately decide the winner.
“We were the first state on board with Trump, and the media called the Attorney General and the Governor’s races way earlier than we had hoped,” Randy Head, chairman of the Indiana Republican Party, said. “It has made me realize that Indiana was a part of a national red wave and that the entire country was experiencing similar results to what we had here at home.”
Even some Democrats predicted Trump would win.
“I expected him to win, but through talking to others and looking at the polls, I doubted myself,” senior Jennifer Anaya-Serrano said. “The ongoing genocide in Palestine is important to Americans, and both candidates swept it under the rug. Unfortunately, the leftist party could not unite to support Harris and split. It’s a disappointing outcome, but definitely not unforeseen.”
On the other hand, some people were shocked.
“I really did not expect Trump to win,” Pharos-Tribune reporter Josh Flynn said. “I really thought the youth would turn out the minority vote, and the white women would carry Kamala Harris to victory. I was very wrong. I felt optimistic all day and believed Jennifer McCormick would be Governor and Destiny Wells Attorney General, and that Harris would be our first woman president. However, when the results started coming in, it felt very much like the 2016 election. There was a feeling of hopelessness very early in both cases. I knew it would be competitive, and it was. It just wasn’t the outcome I anticipated.”
Others were relieved when Trump secured the win.
“I was very relieved, and I had faith people would come to their senses,” science teacher Laura Karnafel said. “I feel less stressed and am just so happy for the country to come back to normal.”
Even though tensions arose, people still have hope. No matter who the president is, America is still America.
“It was a fair election,” Flynn said, “America chose. I will openly admit I am terrified about the results and the consequences they may have for many. However, all I can do now is show kindness and try to help those who need it, as well as voting in every upcoming election.
