By Shanderia K. Posey
Editor
To say the least, disappointment was in the air during the Mississippi Democratic Party’s Young Democrats watch party Tuesday evening at Hal and Mal’s in downtown Jackson. More than 100 supporters came and went at the gathering. By 9 p.m. most people were sitting somberly at tables as the upsetting elections results updated on the big screen. The brightest part of the evening occurred when Hillary Clinton briefly passed Donald Trump in electoral votes, but soon the shock of Clinton possibly losing the election became apparent.
“I cannot believe the number of people who share the same view as Donald Trump,” said Sherron Day of Jackson who had worked on Clinton’s campaign for five months. She also assisted with Barack Obama’s re-election campaign. Day described Trump’s views as “deep-seated hatred, bigotry and mysogynistic.” “It makes me sad,” she said. Day actually left Mississippi at age 18 and recently returned 20-something years later. She knows people from all ethnicities and cultures and strives to discuss differences while embracing likenesses. In her opinion, Trump represents the opposite of those efforts. “Now you are polluting the minds of future generations,” she said referring to the president-elect.
Rep. Abe Hudson, who was elected to Mississippi District 29 House of Representatives in June, wasn’t terribly surprised as the election results came in Trump’s favor during the watch party. “I expected it to be close. No matter what, the country has to figure out how to work together,” Hudson said. “On Nov. 9, we have to get back to the business of not only improving the nation but also Mississippi.” On Wednesday, with Trump’s win secured, Mississippi Democratic Party Chairman Bobby Moak said the Party “is in the process of rebuilding.”
Moak noted Trump’s win surprised Democrats and Republicans due to the polling data, but in the end Trump won the most electoral votes while Clinton gained the popular vote. “We are where we are. We’re all gonna have to come together,” Moak said. “Trump’s campaign was not won on the issues, it was to a large part won on trying to keep someone out of office.” In his assessment of how Trump won, Moak said Trump’s message and policy of change, which was similar to Obama’s “change” message during his elections, secured the election for the business mogul. “The theory of change brought folks to the polls,” he said. Now it’s time to see if Trump will deliver on some of the promises he made such as building a wall along the Southern border and not allowing more Muslims and Latinos into the country. The question is: “Can he get it done?” Moak said.
Shanderia K. Posey can be reached at sposey@mississippilink.com.
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