The results of the 2024 presidential election, in which former president Donald Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris by a result of 312 electoral votes to 226, sparked widely different responses from campus political groups.
It was a shock to some, like members of the defeated party on campus, the UA College Democrats.
“Donald Trump, a convicted felon, serial rapist, wannabe dictator, and one of the most odious figures in our politics, kicked our asses from pillar to post. The worst part is that we never saw this resounding defeat coming, nor did most in our coalition,” Braden Vick, president of the UA College Democrats, said in a press release.
To others, including the UA College Republicans, it was not such a shock.
“We are elated but not surprised that the American people voted resoundingly to send President Trump back to the White House on Tuesday,” Riley McArdle, president of the UA College Republicans, said in an email statement. “It is undeniable that most Americans believe that we’ve been on the wrong track under the Biden-Harris Administration, and we believe that President Trump and Senator Vance, as well as our Senate and, hopefully, House Majorities are beyond capable of turning our country around.”
Republicans currently hold a 53-47 lead in the Senate and a 218-212 advantage in the House.
The UA chapter of conservative student group Young Americans for Freedom was also in support of Trump’s victory, viewing it as a victory for conservatives nationwide.
“While YAF [and UAYAF] itself cannot and will not endorse any candidate, Donald Trump winning the election is a win for conservative and traditional values across the country,” Trenton Buffenbarger, UA YAF president, said in an email statement. “UAYAF’s fight for our values is never over though, and while it’s a big win, we still have a long ways to go.”
The UA Democrats are also looking forward to the future. Vick said the Democrats will have to reevaluate the party and whom they represent after losing the popular vote for the first time since 2004 as well as several key demographics.
“We lost because the majority of American voters viewed us as protecting a status quo they did not want, and they viewed us as the party of Wall Street, not Main Street. Let it be known that, as far as UACD is concerned, we will always fight for the little guy,” Vick said. “To everyone who is scared, hurt, depressed, numb, and angry about our country’s current state of affairs and their personal safety in the United States, know this: We will never abandon you … We love you too damn much to stop fighting.”
The UA Republicans are now looking at how the GOP will use its executive and congressional power, as Trump begins to appoint his controversial cabinet officials.
“We look forward to continued successful Republican leadership on both state and national levels, and we’re focused on expanding that leadership in the 2026 midterms,” McArdle said.
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