New Mexico supporters of Hillary Clinton gathered at Hotel Andaluz Tuesday night, celebrating her statewide win… but ultimately watching a tough national loss unfold for their candidate.
Trump maintained a steady lead in the electoral results all night, as many Clinton supporters held out hope for a late night comeback.
Clinton supporter Sonah Haaland was trying to process the election outcome.
Photo by Mercedez Holtry / NM News Port
“It is really scary to think about what could happen to the people of color at the LGBTQ community,” Haaland said. “What is going to happen to them if he is elected? I don’t know if it will really hit me until whatever happens, happens.”
Despite the shock, Haaland expressed satisfaction for New Mexico’s vote.
“I was anxious about this election for a very long time, and I honestly did not expect it to be this close. But at the end of the day, Hillary won New Mexico 50-39 so we as a state literally did the most we could do and I am proud of that.”
Clinton was ahead in many polls throughout the election season (as reported by FiveThirtyEight), but faced an upset asTrump maintained a lead in electoral votes.
The mood quickly changed at Hotel Andaluz from excitement to disappointment, as Clinton supporters realized that Donald Trump had an increasing chance of winning the Presidency.
One Clinton supporter, Carlos Contreras, a middle aged, Hispanic male, said he voted for Clinton primarily because of his fears of the impact Trump becoming president will have on his daughter and her future.
“I don’t even know what to say about this. I am scared to be a person of color with him in the office, and a father to a daughter. I just don’t have words for this,” Contreras said.
Voters like Pete Trujillo and Bobby Baca were completely shocked by this result.
“This is very sad. Like the stock market will drop, more wars will happen, possibly anything could happen with the instability with him being elected,” Trujillo said.
Bobby Baca said he feared for other aspects of Trump’s presidency, such as hatred being spread and the possible effects that it could have on immigrants in the United States.
“I think that our nation will become more divided,” Baca said, “immigrants will feel unsafe about coming to a nation that was built on immigrants. So it’s kind of scary because he gives a lot of empty promises, and it’s just speaking to entice the people that would typically be following him. There will be so much more inequality now that he is elected.”
Jan Bandrofchak, a lifelong politician, thought that Clinton would win and was disappointed in the news that Clinton was trailing Trump.
“I have never seen a better qualified individual, male or female, for this office. The thought of having her in the White House had me filled with pride. The Republicans had a chance to nominate anyone that is qualified and they chose not to,” Bandrofchak said.
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