America’s most contentious and personal presidential election campaign climaxed with a surprising result on November 8, and it isn’t over yet.
Large crowds of protesters, reportedly consisting largely of young people, have taken to the streets in many cities to oppose Donald Trump’s victory over Hillary Clinton, or vice versa. Pundits and pollsters are scrambling to figure out what went wrong with their pre-election opinions.
As a final wrap on the election scene in Sun City, the Sun Day talked to several residents to get their post-election thoughts. All of them agreed to speak on the record, and none of them was asked directly to say for whom they voted.
“I wasn’t terribly surprised by the result. I thought that Trump had a chance,” said Don Noren. “The country is so polarized, but I think time will heal that. Trump had a tendency to run off at the mouth, but I hope the people will not take him on and prolong the ugliness. Everyone now should adopt a cooperative attitude.”
Richard (RD) Holloman took a historical research approach.
“I was not entirely surprised by the result,” he said. “I read publications put out by finance experts and the financial markets, and they predict national election results on the basis of what the markets do just before the election. About 86% of the time, the markets downside in October means a win for Republicans, and that’s exactly what happened this year. I also think Trump seems to have calmed down a bit now, and I hope that will continue. His first statement after the results were announced was conciliatory. That’s a good sign.”
Holloman, who has been an election judge at Drendel Ballroom precincts since he came to Sun City, also expressed disappointment at the level of public understanding of the Illinois constitutional amendment stating that funds earmarked for transportation matters (roads, bridges, etc.) must be used for those issues only.
It was approved overwhelmingly by statewide voters.
“Many voters in the precinct I worked came up and asked us what it was all about,” Holloman said. “Many voters haven’t been paying attention to it, and it wasn’t very well publicized.”
Mike Seymour, on the other hand, was very surprised by the Trump-Clinton result.
“All the controversy during the campaign revolved around Trump,” he said. “I thought Clinton had a big lead,” he said. “The campaign was too personal, with both candidates seemingly focusing only on beating each other up. I hope everyone now adopts a ‘let’s work together” attitude.’”
Pete Walton was also not shocked by Trump’s win.
“I wanted Trump to win, and I had a feeling he had a chance up to Election Day,” said Pete Walton. “I was excited to see it happen. I constantly felt that Trump should concentrate on the issues, and I think if he had, he would have pulled it (the election) off much more easily. A lot of people I talked to didn’t want to vote for Clinton, but were also reluctant to vote for Trump. In Illinois, it was easy to vote for Trump, no matter how you felt, because it didn’t matter.”
Clinton won Illinois by a wide margin
“I was astounded by the results,” said Cindy Ptak. “I thought the pundits and the polls had Clinton way ahead. The ugly campaign exhausted me. But I stayed up until after midnight and it appeared he had more electoral votes than he needed. He did what he had to do to get elected. He’s a smart man, and he is becoming somewhat calmer and less contentious and more presidential now. He’s our president, and I support him.”
Bill Ziletti compared the 2016 election to 2000, when George W. Bush rallied to defeat Al Gore by a narrow margin after a long wait to determine State of Florida results.
“I went to bed about 10:30 p.m., but I had read that the New York Times said Trump had a 90% chance of winning,” he said. “But Hillary Clinton was running well then, so it was a bit surprising to wake up the next day to find Trump had rallied to win.”
Kay Andersen said the nation’s system of checks and balances among the Executive branch, Congress, and the Supreme Court has value.
“Trump’s campaign has turned up so many extreme ideas, but we have a Congress and Supreme Court to keep things in balance. I was not surprised by the result but disappointed. I’m not sure how he’s going to relate to other powers in the world.”
All of these folks commented that large crowds and long lines at Sun City-area precincts were avoided this year because many persons voted early, starting two weeks before the actual election day.
