Tuesday night’s election has left many Democrats across the nation stunned. However, some local party members are hoping the country will unify and move forward.
With most polls and media outlets projecting Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton as the heavy favorite coming into Tuesday night’s election many Democratic voters were shocked as Republican nominee Donald J. Trump carried key states en route to becoming the 2016 United States President-elect.
As the numbers rolled in on election night, members of the Carter County Democratic Party where at their headquarters in downtown Elizabethton to follow the results. On hand was Carter County Party Chairman Ramon Sanchez-Vinas, who said that this year’s tight presidential race shows how divided the country is at this point.
“It just shows how split the country is,” he said. “It is almost split right down the middle, and people have a reason to be angry. For decades, they have been promised things, and nobody ever delivers on either side. And it is the time that they did.”
Leading up to election night, many in the Republican Party, including President-elect Donald Trump, expressed worries that the American voting system is rigged and corrupted. However, according to Sanchez-Vinas, Tuesday demonstrated to the contrary.
“This proves that the American system works and that it is not rigged,” he said. “I am still concerned if this country is going to come together. I would like to see it come together. It is a very split country. I think this is going to prove that the system does work and that there is a lot of angry people out there.”
Along with taking the White House, the Republican Party held its majority in both the United States House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate Tuesday, giving the party more power to enact its policies in years to come.
“I hope that they will deliver for the American public, a little more than they have in the past,” Sanchez-Vinas said. “That would be my response for either party.”
Early Wednesday morning, President-elect Trump gave his victory speech which struck a conciliatory tone in hopes of mending the wounds of a hard-fought and divisive election. That same morning, Secretary Clinton gave her concession speech during which she said, “We owe him an open mind and a chance to lead.”
Tuesday night, Sanchez-Vinas echoed Trump and Clinton’s sentiments.
“When it is all said and done, I have always believed that you have to be a loyal opposition and that you work with the people that win to move the country forward,” he said. “That is the bottom line, and people seem to forget that.”