As the 2024 election cycle drew to a close, Davidson students gathered to take part in a series of events focused on the historic occasion. In the days leading up to and following the election, the Center for Political Engagement (CPE) held gatherings designed to give students a space to prepare for and reflect on the outcome.
CPE’s ‘Twas the Night Before the 2024 Election event on November 4th and Election Party on November 5th, both co-hosted with Union Board, elevated unity and community to center stage.
“Sometimes when you’re thinking about the election, it feels very stressful and a little isolating if you’re just thinking about it yourself. It’s nice to go to a place where a lot of people are thinking about it, and you could just talk to people and find comfort in it,” election party attendee Kyra Dalbo ‘25 said.
Throughout the night, Union Board President Davis Varnado ‘25 could be seen running around the building ensuring everything ran smoothly, including abundant amounts of pizza, trivia, and a live stream. “I’m happy that there’s excitement in here and that people are staying engaged,” Varnado said during a brief moment of rest.
The centerpiece of the night was a large map of the United States hung from the third floor railing. Students sat around tables below while Union Board members placed red or blue cutouts on the map as states were called.
In the 900 Room, a PBS News live-stream kept students updated on the night’s results while lounging on bean bags and folded chairs, celebrating the historic night with cake, cookies, and other treats provided by the host organizations. Sparkling stars hung from the edges of the ceiling and tinsley red and blue curtains draped the entrances of the room.
To President of Davidson College Libertarians Gabriel Russ-Nachamie ‘27, the election party exemplified Davidson’s unique political climate. “I think Davidson is unique in that we put our community first above partisan politics. Unfortunately, we’ve seen too much political violence and too much political division at the national level, and that’s not something that happens at Davidson,” Russ-Nachamie said.
The gathering gave students the space to engage in politics while maintaining connectivity with their fellow Davidson students. “It was a good community-centered event, a place for students to gather and support each other,” Student Government Association President and Union Board Representative Connor Hines ‘26 said. “No matter what party affiliation you have, it’s good to talk about [the current events] and have respectful discourse.”
As the night progressed and Donald Trump began to take a decisive lead, most students returned to their dorms for the night. But for some students, watching the electoral map turn red was energizing.
Oliver Genovese ‘28 stayed up until the early hours of Wednesday morning to watch Trump’s victory speech. “I was feeling pretty confident and my family was pretty excited too. So we’ve been waiting for this. Probably the most exciting election day since 2016,” Genovese said.
For many Republicans, the outcome is a resounding repudiation of pollsters who underestimated Trump’s appeal in 2016, 2020, and 2024.
“I volunteered at Trump’s final rally in Gastonia last weekend. And contrary to what polls and mainstream media suggested, his energy and the energy of the massive crowd that showed up to see him in the middle of nowhere (I had to get there at 6:30 am for a speech that began at 12:30 pm) was a sign of things to come. It was clear from that point on that there was massive momentum in our favor,” President of Davidson College Republicans Stephen Walker ‘26 said in an email.
To many, this election is a wake up call. “I think the Democrats have to wake up and smell the roses. It’s the best way I could put it. From my experience, [The Democratic Party has] become an increasingly college educated, professionally dominated party, and it comes off as scornful. It comes off as hubristic and arrogant,” Anthony Toumazatos ‘25 said.
“I think [the election results] go to show how any college, including Davidson, swings very liberal, and that the people around you are not necessarily going to represent what the actual national election looks like,” CPE President Sophia Ludt ‘25 said.
The problem has as much to do with policy as personality. “I sort of wonder to myself, where does the Democrat party go from here? […] Do they tilt further to the center? Do they tilt further to the left? I think that’s the question they have to ask,” Toumazatos said.
Indeed, the answer to that question has become, and will continue to grow, more difficult over time. “As time goes on and identity in America becomes increasingly complex and increasingly intertwined […] you’re gonna see certain interests be mutually incompatible,” Toumazatos said. “I think you started to see the cracks between certain key constituencies and voter blocks.”
To others, though, the real issue for Democrats was a failure to remind voters what life was like under Trump’s time in office. “I think the biggest thing is that people just didn’t have a lot of memory. Trump being four years ago is a lot,” President of Davidson College Democrats Kailliou Macon-Goudeau ‘25 said.
However, Macon-Goudeau predicts it will not take long to remember the factors that led Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to beat Trump in 2020. “When Trump comes in and Trump starts doing exactly what Democrats said he would be doing, the way that Democrats said he would be doing it, we need to be able to call him out every step of the way. […] We’re going to have people dedicated, and we’re going to have people watching so that the American people know by 2026 exactly who has their interests in mind,” Macon-Goudeau said.
In the meantime, Genovese thinks a second Trump term will be less damaging than many fear. “[Trump is going to] try to have the Republican party win the next election. So if you think about it logically, he can’t do anything that would be too radical, or else Republicans won’t be able to win another election,” Genovese said.
Even so, Walker emphasizes that Republicans are ready to capitalize on their new-found power. “We will not take this, the greatest comeback in the history of politics, for granted,” Walker said. “It’s time for America to clean up the mess, permanently drain the swamp, and restore America to a state of unrivaled excellence […] We intend to capitalize on [our electoral victories] to the fullest extent possible.”
The following day, Davidson’s Deliberative Citizenship Initiative (DCI) held a post-election conversation in the 900 Room. As students and faculty gathered, Vice President Kamala Harris’s concession speech played in the background.
“[We wanted people] to come together as a community and talk across differences. It was great to see we had people from across the political spectrum here talking and sharing their views. I think that was really cool,” Associate Professor of Political Science and Faculty Director of the DCI Dr. Graham Bullock said.
In order to structure the conversation, the group was organized into four categories of discussion: hopes and concerns for the next four years, election results, next steps to take, and open discussion. “We wanted to have a balance between letting people just express themselves while also providing some orientation for them, some things that they can talk about together,” Dr. Bullock emphasized.
