Across Wake Forest’s campus and the Winston-Salem community, people came together to engage in and watch the 2024 Election unfold. From 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., individuals cast their vote at local polling stations, and the evening was characterized by watch parties of news stations such as MSNBC and Fox News.
The Old Gold & Black spent the day conducting live coverage of the election, sending reporters to key locations in the community, including Precincts 903 and 905, where Wake Forest students voted, and partisan and nonpartisan watch parties. City & State Editor James Watson paid close attention to the numbers as data became available, providing “data updates” each hour from 7 p.m. to almost midnight.
Here is an overview of how the day went.
Outside the pit
Early in the afternoon, staff writers Miriam Fabrycky and Nick Costantino talked to ten students outside of the pit to gauge their feelings about participating in this year’s election and anticipating the 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.”
The students also had differing perspectives on what issues were at the forefront of the election — four said they believed the number one issue was 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.
Polling locations in Winston-Salem
Also in the afternoon, News Editors Maria Silveira and Skyler Villamar-Jones visited Salem Chapel and Bethabara Moravian Church — both polling stations in precincts 903 and 905, respectively. They spoke with voters between 2:30 p.m. and 3:15 p.m. and later in the evening between 6 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. The polls were considerably busier in the afternoon and numbers started to dwindle as closing time neared.
Several Wake Forest students at the polls were first-time voters, and they expressed excitement about participating in their first election. One such student was freshman Jorden Patino, who spoke with the Old Gold & Black in Precinct 903 around 2:30 p.m.
“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.
In Precinct 905 at approximately 6 p.m., 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 now President-elect 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.”
On-campus watch parties
Beginning around 8 p.m., Fabrycky and Costantino attended two watch parties on campus — Deacs Decide at Zick’s and College Democrats in Kirby Hall. Most of the students at the Deacs Decide watch party were freshmen, and they expressed fears, excitement and curiosity as reporting on election results began.
Freshman 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. Freshman 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.
Three students at the Wake Forest 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.
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.”
Off-campus watch parties
Three Old Gold & Black reporters visited watch parties across Winston-Salem. Sports Editor Andrew Braun went to J Butler’s Bar and Grill for the Forsyth County Republican Party’s watch party while Features Editor Ella Klein visited ALV Nightclub for the Forsyth County Democratic Party’s watch party. Senior Writer Isabella Romine reported from two locations — the Forsyth Freedom Federation watch party at the chapter office for Carolina Federation, as well as Regina Hall’s watch party at the rooftop bar of the Courtyard by Marriott in downtown Winston-Salem.
As Republican victories were announced, the patio at J Butler’s Bar and Grill, decorated by red, star-shaped balloons, erupted into applause.
One woman at the frontmost table incited the loudest applause of the evening as Fox News made an update for Republican Congresswoman Virginia Foxx’s re-election race in North Carolina’s 5th U.S. Congressional District — the district where J Butler’s Bar and Grill resides. Later in the evening, Republican state Representative Jeff Zenger made an appearance as his reelection became more apparent. The Old Gold & Black was not at J Butler’s when President-elect Donald Trump won North Carolina.
Over at ALV Nightclub, balloons, glitter, strobe lights and Harris-Walz stickers decorated the club as two large screens projected MSNBC’s live coverage of the election.
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 cheered.
However, 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 was palpable — in a neck-and-neck race, even the loudest democrats quietly discussed the incoming results.
Similarly, the mood at the Forsyth Freedom Federation Election watch party grew grim and tense as several Republicans pulled ahead in races across the state. A murmur of anxiety fell over the room as the tight races for N.C. School Superintendent and N.C. Supreme Court race was read out again.
One woman stood up as it was announced Trump’s electoral vote count grew to 178 around 10 p.m. “I need to go home,” she announced, shaking her head.
But at Regina Hall’s watch party, supporters celebrated as Hall shared she felt “strong” about the growing strength of the numbers in her favor. Later that night, she announced her victory on a Facebook livestream.
“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.”
The results are in, and resources are available at Wake Forest
While all results are pre-final canvas, Republican nominee Donald Trump was named the nation’s 47th president. In North Carolina, Democrat Josh Stein won the gubernatorial race, defeating Republican Mark Robinson.
Wake Forest has put together a schedule with events and resources open for the community to process the results and engage in dialogue. Quiet rooms and processing spaces are available in the Wellbeing Center and Intercultural Center, respectively.
Thank you for following the Old Gold & Black’s live coverage of the 2024 Election. We remain dedicated to continuing to cover the election and document its effect on our community.
