Seasoned voters and political newcomers in Oktibbeha County came together Wednesday to start moving forward from the long, hard-fought general election, and members of both local parties hoped to come together, while increasing voter turnout in future races—regardless of political affiliation.
The dust from Election Day has settled, and the U.S. is set to welcome its first Republican president since George W. Bush left office in 2008. Donald Trump's ascension to the White House shocked the political establishment in Washington, and the nation spoke Tuesday night—ending with the GOP also retaining control of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate.
Trump secured 279 electoral college votes to Hillary Clinton's 228, as of Wednesday afternoon. The Republicans retained 51 seats in the Senate, and 239 seats in the House. Clinton is on pace to win the popular vote with 59,739,529 votes to Trump's 59,520,289—set to mark the first time in 16 years a candidate won the popular vote, while losing the electoral vote.
Voter registration in Oktibbeha County increased by over 7,000 new registered voters compared to 2012, and over 16,000 ballots were cast of the overall 27,856 registered, according to county data.
"It's way more than anything we've seen before," said Election Clerk Sheryl Elmore in October. "I think a lot of it has to do with the candidates running this year for president. There were those who wanted to vote in 2012. This time,
it's polarizing now. People are at opposite ends of the fence for this. People are losing friends over the election. I've never seen that before. This has really brought both sides out."
"We were delighted with the turnout. We are so glad people turned out to vote and had that opportunity," added Oktibbeha County Republican Chairwoman Marnita Henderson.
In Mississippi, Trump won 58 percent of all votes, over 677,000 in total to Clinton's 40 percent, or over 462,000 votes. In House races, incumbents Trent Kelly, R-Miss., and Gregg Harper, R-Miss., secured reelection easily for their respective First and Third Districts.
As of Wednesday, Oktibbeha County supported Clinton by a slim margin of 7,851 votes to Trump's 7,671—excluding all affidavit and absentee ballots, according to county data. The news was promising for area Democrats, according to Oktibbeha County Democrat Chairman Al Gore.
"Of course we did not carry the state," Gore said. "But we hope to be responsible citizens and get out to vote. It was a good turnout, but we need to keep it up."
For MSU College Republicans Chairman Colton Robison, Trump's victory marks a turning point for future races, and represents a key victory for conservative interests in the U.S.
"For everyone that considers themselves Republicans on campus, we are just ecstatic that our voices are being heard and the people of the U.S. made a decision that it's time for change," Robison said. "I think that everyone is really excited."
After multiple voter registration drives on campus, both Robison and MSU College Democrats Chairwoman Kennedy Mohrs said the turnout was encouraging for upcoming elections, and both pointed towards the importance of staying active in local races. Starkville's deadline for municipal elections is January 1, 2017, and will see multiple races for mayor and aldermen.
"The voter turnout that we got and all the new registered voters we got is really something to be proud of for anyone during this election cycle," Mohrs said. "We worked really hard with the MSU Student Association during the voter registration drives to get new people registered to vote, no matter what party they were voting for. That's everyone's right as a citizen, even if it's not for the Democrats on the ballot."
"As big of a deal it is to vote for president, it's just a big of a deal to vote locally," Robison said. "It determines a lot of your every day life activities. It's important to get out on a local scale, and we will push them really hard."
Following an intense Tuesday evening, Trump addressed his supporters with a message of ending divisiveness, after an exhausting campaign of personal attacks and controversies on both sides of the aisle.
"Now it's time for America to bind the wounds of division," he said. "It is time for us to come together as one united people. It's time."
On Wednesday morning, Clinton spoke to her faithful voters in hopes of welcoming Trump with open arms.
"This is not the outcome that we wanted and worked so hard for, and I am sorry that we did not win this election," she said.
Robison said he hoped both Republicans and Democrats would begin to work together to help unify the country.
"We have not gotten along in the past," Robison said. "In my opinion, we haven't worked with each other enough in my opinion. I think that if Trump can come at this and do some things he says he's going to, I think it could work out for both parties. I don't think he will be the great divider people are saying he will be. That's what he should do, and that's what I think he will do."
But Mohrs said the unification process could take time, and face a challenging path forward.
"I believe that his message of unity is a promising sign," Mohrs said. "It's going to be harder than he thinks it is, specifically with millennials, and how he is going to reach out to us and people who didn't support him. What is he going to do to make our lives better specifically with public and secondary education, health care and climate change? We are concerned about things that will impact us and our future children."
For more, see the Nov. 10 edition.