LIVE UPDATES: Election Day in Winston-Salem

Several Old Gold & Black reporters provide live updates from Winston-Salem on Election Day

Maddie Stopyra, James Watson, Ella Klein, Andrew Braun, Isabella Romine, Skyler Villamar-Jones, Maria Silveira, Miriam Fabrycky, and Nick Costantino

November 5, 2024

Live coverage has ended as of 11:40 p.m.

From Maddie Stopyra, Editor-in-Chief:

Thank you for following the Old Gold & Black’s live coverage of the 2024 Election. Throughout the evening, our reporters have covered events both on and off campus, talking to students and local voters. We explored how our community engaged in and responded to election day and closely followed the numbers as data became available.

Be sure to look for a story in print and online headlined “Election Night, as it happened in Winston-Salem” summarizing tonight’s live coverage. The OGB is dedicated to continuing to cover the election and its effect on our community.

11 p.m. Data Update, James Watson and Andrew Braun:

As of 11:25 p.m., North Carolina has been called for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump by the Associated Press.

But let’s check in on down-ballot races in the state and the city of Winston-Salem.

86.38% of North Carolina’s precincts are reporting in, while 65% of ballots have been cast.

As of 10:58 p.m., Jeff Jackson (D) maintains a lead over Dan Bishop (R) in the state’s Attorney General race with just over 3% more of the vote. Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor Rachel Hunt also leads Republican competitor Hal Weatherman by 2.04%.

Republicans, meanwhile, lead races further down the ballot: Republican Dave Boliek has a 1.53% lead over Democrat Jessica Holmes in the race for N.C. State Auditor. GOP candidates also maintain leads by as much as five points in the races for Treasurer and Commissioners of Agriculture, Insurance and Labor.

Democrats are still maintaining leads with Democrat Maurice “Mo” Green leading Republican Michelle Morrow by over 200,000 votes for state Superintendent of Public Education, and Elaine Marshall ahead of Chad Brown for Secretary of State. Democrats lead in both races by just over 2%.

N.C. Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs holds a narrow lead of 37,000 votes over Jefferson Griffin.

In the NC-01 House seat, one of the only competitive seats this cycle due to Republican-led gerrymandering, Rep. Don Davis leads by a single percentage point.

U.S. House of Representatives candidate for the NC-10 – the district Forsyth County is situated in – Pat Harrigan leads Democrat Ralph Scott, Jr. by over 20% of the vote so far.

In the most notable local race of the night, Regina Ford Hall (D) beat James Hodson (R) for the Northwestern Ward city council race by a comfortable 28-point margin.

The ballot referendum over citizenship will comfortably pass.

11:05 p.m., Isabella Romine:

Regina Hall has just addressed the public on a Facebook livestream and announced her victory in City Council.

“To the citizens of the Northwest Ward, I have two words,” Hall said. “Thank you. Thank you for your trust in me. Thank you for your vote of confidence. Together, we will move forward.”

She also thanked her supporters, volunteers who worked on her campaign, family members, and opponent Republican Jimmy Hodson.

“Thank you to Jimmy Hodson for running a clean campaign and showing that civility can exist in politics,” Hall said, who reported that she has spoken regularly with him throughout the campaign.

“We persevered and led a clean campaign, with integrity and dignity, much like I will lead the Northwest Ward and Winston-Salem,” Hall said. “Let’s get to work.”

Although the mood in the room was jubilant about Hall’s win, there were undercurrents of anxiety about Harris’s chances in the national election.

“I’m still hopeful. It’s until all votes are counted,” said Alisha Thompson, one of Hall’s supporters of the tight presidential race in Virginia.

The Wake Forest College Democrats club hosted an election watch party in Kirby Hall. (Evan Harris)

10:55 p.m., Miriam Fabrycky and Nick Costantino:

Three students at the College Democrats watch party agreed that they felt worried going into election night, all expressing that abortion was the issue they prioritized most as voters.

Sophomore Camillia Burnette looked back fondly on voting early in Durham with her family but is feeling fearful as she watches news coverage tonight.

“I just feel like if Donald Trump wins, I’m going to lose a lot of my rights if not all of them,” Burnette said. “And that really makes me nervous as a woman of color.”

Freshman Elisa Eng reflected on how changes in her surroundings impacted her experience of this election cycle. Moving from a solidly Democratic state to North Carolina, which is a swing state in this election, she believes her vote “had a lot more power.” She also noted that Wake Forest tends to be a more politically split environment than her past schools.

Freshman Lauren Beers agreed that Wake Forest has “a lot of people on either side.”

“I really don’t want to go backward,” Beers said. “Things that have happened over the last eight years have been kind of scary, especially the divide that it’s caused in our country.”

10:50 p.m., Isabella Romine:

The Old Gold and Black is reporting from Regina Hall’s election watch party on the rooftop bar of the Courtyard by Marriott in downtown Winston-Salem. Hall is the Democratic candidate running for the Northwest Ward’s city council position.

Gold and purple balloon arrangements and pom-poms dot the room, the colors of her campaign. Hall’s numbers look strong at 10:30 p.m. While much of the crowd has trickled out, a dozen close supporters stand and sit checking their phones, decked in purple “Regina for Winston” shirts as they call out and add up vote numbers.

“We feel really strong,” Hall said. “I feel really good about the campaign we have run thus far. We were able to lead a pretty good campaign with a lot of integrity and faithful volunteers and supporters.”

Her race has been longer than most. She was the only candidate for city council who ran a race that was contested in both the primary and general elections.

“I’ve been doing this since Dec. 6, 2023 — and the baby has come in between that,” Hall said, who is now nine months pregnant and says she is expecting her baby any day. “I’m going pretty strong. I still have fuel, and I’ll continue to wait until the last vote is counted.”

10:30 p.m., Miriam Fabrycky and Nick Costantino:

Freshmen at the Deacs Decide watch party tonight expressed fears, excitement and curiosity as reporting on election results began. First-time voter Tom Hollingsworth said that the policies at stake in this election will impact him as he becomes an adult. He feels that “neither candidate is super reflective” of his values.

Ella Jones has been keeping an eye on election news throughout the day on Instagram and TikTok and said it feels “nerve-wracking” to finally begin to see real data on voting across the country.

In contrast, freshman Samantha Fischbeck said she is feeling optimistic about a Harris-Walz victory. She also expressed that she has enjoyed the civic engagement in her community.

“I feel like this whole past week has been very hope-driven,” Fischbeck said. “It is a cool feeling when all of your friends are voting and they’re having that conversation. It feels tangible.”

Nick Paris and his friends placed bets on several races.

“I hope that the outcome that my money predicted will be the outcome of the election, but also, obviously, the direction of this country will depend on this election,” he said. “We’re all going to stay up until probably 3 or 4 a.m., and hopefully, they get the results tonight. But I mean, we can’t really expect that.”

9:55 p.m., Ella Klein:

Whispers around the room still felt uncertain about a national democratic win, even as Josh Stein’s win swept across the state.

As the election coverage focused on North Carolina, attendees shook their heads at the red counties and cheered as blue counties were called.

The uneasiness is palpable — in a neck-and-neck race, even the loudest democrats are quietly discussing the incoming results.

The room is celebratory, with blue strobe lights cast over faces and the occasional pop of a balloon that litters the floor. As the results roll in, the party grows quieter. People return to their seats, glued to the screen.

As Vermont and New York were called blue, the crowd took a break to applaud their party’s victories. Boos echoed through the room as red states, like Mississippi, were called.

9:44 p.m., James Watson and Andrew Braun:

Decision Desk HQ has called North Carolina for Trump. While only 54% of the vote is in, Trump has improved his margins in counties across the state.

Patrons were called to draw their attention to the front of the patio at J Butler’s Republican watch party as word from the Regional Director for Donald Trump’s campaign was announced: North Carolina has been called for Trump.

But even with both the presidential and gubernatorial races called for NC, the battle for the state’s lieutenant governorship between Republican Hal Weatherman and Democrat Rachel Hunt continues to attract attention. Among those paying close attention to the down-ballot race are representatives of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America and Forsyth County Republican.

One patron, Jesse, says he hasn’t been too surprised by the night’s results so far — although he expected Trump to be slightly ahead of Democrat Kamala Harris in North Carolina.

Jesse said his “biggest point” when voting was the nation’s economy and fiscal policy. He says having a fiscal plan and economic direction are his first priority to ensure that other issues like social policy can eventually be debated.

“Anything else for me is at least negotiable,” said Jesse. “But as far as the success [of] the country, it’s not negotiable.”

Jesse also said that, while he feels “everybody kind of wants the same thing,” the media has been the main polarizer among both sides of the electorate.

9:30 p.m., Isabella Romine:

The OGB is also at the Forsyth Freedom Federation Election watch party. Forsyth Freedom Federation is a progressive community organization that describes itself as “the People’s liberation movement from the status quo.”

Around twenty people are gathered at the Forsyth County chapter office for Carolina Federation. White posters with different races line the walls, and organizers are color coding the results red and blue as the numbers update every quarter hour.

After the attendees were provided pizza and snacks, the main organizer, Camille Semaan, opened with a group discussion about how attendees find strength in difficult times. Semaan also shared the Freedom Federation’s accomplishments during the year. The event then joined a Zoom meeting with the statewide parent organization, Carolina Federation, a coalition of local chapters of community organizations that hope to build the voice of the working class and support Kamala Harris.

“If Donald Trump wins the presidency, we keep organizing,” Jenn Frye, the Carolina Federation’s co-director, said.

Attendees gather around the ALV club’s stage, food and bar drinks in hand, glued to coverage of the election results. Ella Klein

9:22 p.m., Ella Klein:

Balloons, glitter, strobe lights and Harris-Walz stickers decorate the ALV Nightclub, where the Forsyth County Democratic Party is hosting its election watch party.

Two large screens project MSNBC’s live coverage of the election, the sound of the television competing with Bruce Springsteen blasting over the club’s speakers. The watch party boasts a full house — with attendees chatting amongst themselves or glued to the screens.

As MSNBC called the results of the North Carolina gubernatorial race, the entire room went silent. When Josh Stein, the Democratic candidate was announced as the winner over controversial Republican figure Mark Robinson, attendees erupted into applause and cheers.

Attendee Laura Ricardi only had one word to say about how the win felt: “Excellent.”

Patrons at J Butler’s Bar and Grill in Lewisville, N.C. gather around televisions and pay close attention to election coverage from local ABC and Fox News. Andrew Braun

9 p.m Data Update, James Watson:

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Forsyth County just uploaded about 47,000 votes to the state website. With 17% in, Harris currently leads by 20,000 votes, a lead we can expect to go down a bit as the night goes on — but by how much is key. President Joe Biden won Forsyth County by double digits in 2020, and it remains to be seen how Harris is performing within that context. Anything below Biden’s margins might spell trouble for Harris in the rest of the state. Many of the council of state races — excluding the governor’s — remain very close.

8 p.m. Data Update, James Watson:

North Carolina has just started counting its votes. Be wary of any takes right now: only 4.48% of votes have been counted statewide (Forsyth County is at 0% reported right now). Fox News just called the governor’s race for Democrat Attorney General Josh Stein, which means Fox’s decision desk is predicting that whatever votes remain uncounted will break for Stein in a way for him to win decisively. Keep in mind that is their math — the best way to keep up with these numbers is still the state board of elections website, not cable news. But it marks one of the first big calls of the evening.

Campaign signs were placed alongside the road on Bethabara Moravian Church. (Skyler Villamar-Jones)

7:39 p.m., Maria Silviera and Skyler Villamar-Jones:

Precinct’s 903 and 905 were comparatively less busy between 6 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. as polling came to a close. There were approximately five voters casting their ballots at each location.

At Precinct 903, freshmen Claudia Butler and Alexander Gonzalez shared their excitement as first time voters in a swing state. Butler, who is from Ohio, registered in North Carolina in part because of the efforts on campus encouraging students to vote.

“It’s good to do my civic duty and to help the country,” Gonzalez said. “I’m excited to exercise a right that people didn’t have once, and that people still don’t have.”

In Precinct 905, junior Josh Demontigny said it was nerve wracking to vote for a candidate he is not extremely passionate about. He emphasized climate change as an issue he cares about, but made it clear that a contributing factor to his vote for Harris is that he’s primarily in opposition to former President Donald Trump.

“I’m not the most passionate about Harris but I am just very anti-Trump,” Demontigny said. “There’s some things I like about her, but there’s a lot of things I don’t like. The good outweighs the bad for me in this election.”

7 p.m. Data Update, James Watson:

Early voting ended on Saturday at 3 p.m., capping off a record period of turnout for the Tar Heel state. More than 4.2 million North Carolinians voted, walloping the 2020 total of 3.6 million votes.

That’s 57% of all registered voters in the state.

The highest turnout was in Wake County, with Forsyth County in fourth place — over 166,000 votes cast. Additionally, in spite of the impacts of Hurricane Helene, the 25 counties in Western North Carolina have outpaced the rest of the state. Those counties reached 58.9% turnout — about two percentage points higher than the statewide turnout.

Once polls close at 7:30 p.m., the NCSBE Dashboard will be updated regularly throughout election night as county boards of elections report results. Election night results are always unofficial. Elections are not over on election night. In the days after the election, bipartisan election officials in all 100 counties will ensure every eligible ballot is counted. They will audit and ultimately certify the results. This is called the “canvass” process, and it occurs after every election. For local contests, the county boards will certify results on Nov. 15. For all other contests, the State Board will certify final results on Nov. 26.

Officials anticipate that the unofficial results reported by the end of election night will include about 98% of all ballots. The county boards will stop uploading votes to the Dashboard after all available votes are tabulated.

During the 10-day canvass period after Election Day, the counties will upload those additional votes to the Election Results Dashboard.

But that’s just North Carolina. Other states will come in throughout the night, but it’s unclear if we’ll have a projected winner. If nothing else, we might be able to do the math tonight — we’ll keep you posted.

Winston-Salem residents and Wake Forest students arrived at Precinct 905 to cast their votes. (Maria Silveira)

5:58 p.m., Maria Silveira:

In Precinct 905, the roughly 18 voters at Bethabara Moravian Church around 3:15 p.m. were predominantly Winston-Salem residents. Wake Forest students living in North Campus housing were zoned for this precinct.

Several students expressed similar sentiments to those the Old Gold & Black spoke with in Precinct 903. Freshman Trevor Weiss from California expressed excitement about being a first-time voter in North Carolina — a decisive swing state.

“It’s nice to vote, nice to get my voice heard. I wish we could have a little bit better candidates but it’s good to […] have input on this finally,” Weiss said.

Weiss expressed that several issues are important to him when voting for a presidential candidate, including what he describes as the “drug crisis,” immigration, the economy and foreign policy.

Graduate student Joe Cius explained that women’s rights were the main reason she visited the polls.

“I think that’s just a basic human right that we shouldn’t have to vote on, which is sad,” Cius said. “That’s the number one thing that made me want to vote.”

When Cius was asked if she had anything to add regarding election day she said: “Go Vote!”

Wake Forest students at Precinct 305 enter Harvest Bible/Salem Chapel to vote (Skyler Villamar-Jones)

5:48 p.m., Skyler Villamar-Jones:

In Precinct 903, at around 2:30 p.m. there were approximately 15 people in line to vote at Salem Chapel, the majority of whom were Wake Forest students. Students living on South Campus were zoned for this precinct. The Old Gold & Black interviewed several students after they voted as they waited for the shuttle services that transported students to and from the voting sites.

Freshmen Jorden Patino and Madeline Basch expressed excitement about voting in their first election.

“I’m feeling very powerful,” Patino said. “I’m very glad that I got to vote for people who don’t have a voice in my community.”

Patino, who is from New Jersey, was enthusiastic about being able to vote in a swing state where it has a greater impact.

Basch said that her main concern regarding which candidate to vote for was their respective positions on women’s rights.

Junior Jack Liddicoat, a North Carolina resident, recognized the social pressure he felt to vote.

“I’ve been reading stuff that says people can see if you voted or not,” Liddicoat said. “I don’t want people thinking that I didn’t vote when I voice my opinion on certain issues.”

5 p.m., Miriam Fabrycky and Nick Costantino:

Around 12:30 p.m., the OGB spoke with ten students about their feelings and plans as they anticipated election results. Each individual said they voted — all but one in North Carolina — but they had differing emotions as they waited for results. Around half of the students described more intense feelings of anxiety.

“I am absolutely going to be on my laptop refreshing the page over and over and over again in my chemistry class,” freshman Lenny Lane said. “I remember four years ago in my freshman year [of high school], I was in class just pressing the refresh page over and over again. I’m nervous. I definitely want a specific outcome for this election.”

Others felt more indifferent to various potential outcomes, including freshman Thomas Naper who said he is “not really too worried about” the election. The students also had differing perspectives on what issues were on the forefront of the election — four said they believed the number one issue is legal access to abortion.

One such student, freshman Jane Hochman, described that as a pre-med student, she cares most about a woman’s right to choose. Junior Nandini Dube agreed that women’s rights are important in this election, but also emphasized the issues of gun control and housing.

Meanwhile, several other students said that they did not have specific issues in mind when voting.

Regardless of their varying emotions surrounding the election, however, each student plans to watch election coverage tonight, if only casually as they work on their homework and spend time with friends.

“I felt really excited to participate in this year’s election,” freshman Max Marino said. “I think it’s one of the biggest elections in recent history. So I was really excited to have my voice heard.”

From Maddie Stopyra, Editor-in-Chief:

The Old Gold & Black is proud to present live coverage of the 2024 Election. We are dedicated to accurately and thoroughly documenting how our community engages in and responds to election day. Beginning at approximately 5 p.m., short “blog posts” will be available on our website from reporters at key locations on campus and in Winston-Salem. Data-focused posts will be published approximately every hour between 7 p.m. and 12 a.m. as results are made public. These updates will also be available on the OGB’s Instagram and X accounts.

The OGB’s 2024 Election reporting team consists of six reporters who will cover on and off-campus locations. Here is the breakdown:

Staff Writers Miriam Fabrycky and Nick Costantino will report from Wake Forest’s Reynolda Campus, focusing on speaking to students at watch parties and heavily populated areas such as dining halls.
Features Editor Ella Klein will report from the Democratic Party headquarters in Winston-Salem.
Sports Editor Andrew Braun will report from the Republican Party headquarters in Winston-Salem.
News Editor Skyler Villamar-Jones will report from polling locations in precinct 903, speaking with several voters.
News Editor Maria Silviera will report from polling locations in precinct 905, speaking with several voters.
Senior Writer Isabella Romine will attend campaign events across Winston-Salem and talk to organizers and attendees.

After live coverage concludes, blog posts will be consolidated into a story headlined “Election night, as it happened in Winston-Salem” for our print edition that will be available on Nov. 7. Thank you for following our coverage, and if you have not already done so, please vote.

About the Contributors

Maddie Stopyra, Editor-in-Chief

Maddie is a junior from Rural Hall, N.C. majoring in English and minoring in journalism and psychology. Outside of the OGB, she is also a member of the campus a cappella group Minor Variation. In her free time, you can find her reading novels and going to coffee shops with friends.

James Watson, City & State Editor

James Watson is a sophomore from Wilmington, N.C. who plans on majoring in politics and international affairs and minoring in classical studies. Outside of OGB, James is heavily involved in state and local politics and the director of Deacs Decide on campus. A host on Wake Radio, James loves the sound of his own voice. He is also a serial tweeter.

Ella Klein, Features Editor

Ella is a sophomore from Winston-Salem, N.C. majoring in environmental studies and minoring in anthropology. Outside of the OGB, she is the creative director of The Magnolia, a member of Wake Radio and an intern with the Office of Sustainability. In her free time, you can find her kayaking, gardening, listening to music and drinking celery soda.

Andrew Braun, Sports Editor

Andrew is a freshman from Wrightsville Beach, N.C. intending to major in politics and international affairs and minor in journalism. Outside of the OGB, he is a member of a capella group Innuendo and Model United Nations. In his free time, you can find him playing bass and guitar, watching only the most obscure NBA matchups and paddle surfing at the beach.

Isabella Romine, Features Editor

Isabella Romine is a sophomore from Greensboro, N.C. She is studying politics, linguistics, and Russian, which she began learning during a gap year in Moldova through the NSLI-Y program. Outside of the OGB, she is involved in the Program for Leadership and Character, student radio, and Three to Four Ounces, Wake Forest’s literary magazine.

Skyler Villamar-Jones, News Editor

Maria Silveira, News Editor

Maria is a freshman from Highland Beach, Fla. Outside of the OGB, she is a member of the Kappa Beta Gamma sorority. In her free time, you can find her taking a dance class, going to the beach or listening to music with friends.