Updated, Nov. 7
Donald J. Trump, surviving a criminal conviction, four outstanding criminal indictments, and two assassination attempts, was declared the winner of the presidential election early Wednesday morning, capping a remarkable comeback from four years ago when he refused to admit defeat to President Joe Biden.
On the Island, it was a different picture. With turnout at 71 percent — helped by a high amount of early voting — voters overwhelmingly supported Kamala Harris. More than 8,000 votes were cast for the Harris-Walz ticket, compared with about 2,700 for Trump-Vance. With about 75 percent of the vote going to the vice president, the Vineyard far outpaced even the rest of Massachusetts, where about 61 percent voted for Harris.
A breakdown of votes by towns is available here.
Reaction from Islanders waking up to the news has been a mix of disbelief, worry, and hope. Some Democrats were still in shock; others, while maybe less surprised, were saddened and distressed about the future of reproductive rights for women, and fearful that the country could slide into a dark period of authoritarian rule under a Trump presidency and Republican control of Congress.
Retired 75-year-old Greg Coogan was taking a walk on Circuit Avenue in Oak Bluffs Wednesday morning; while saddened by the results, he said he holds out hope for the country and the Vineyard.
“I have said on more than one occasion today that the sun will rise tomorrow. It rose today,” Coogan said. “I think we have a different way of looking at things here,” he said of the large support for Harris on the Vineyard.
Some registered Democrats were at a loss for words. “I really have nothing to say that would be fit to print, except that the American people have spoken,” said Jonathan Chatinover, president of the Democratic Council of Martha’s Vineyard.
In Vineyard Haven, ArtCliff Diner owner Gina Stanley, whose eatery is a gathering place for many in town, expects politics to dominate the discussion when the diner opens on Thursday morning.
Stanley was still processing the electoral outcome on Wednesday morning, with the diner closed. “[I am] discouraged that people vote with their wallets, and they always will … More than caring about other human beings, they care about the price of frigging eggs and bacon.”
She also acknowledged that Vineyard voters on the whole have different perspectives than in many other communities. “This is a blue bubble. People who live here are very lucky and successful. I feel that [of] most of the people.”
Also in Vineyard Haven, Rodney Bunker has voted for Trump three times; he said the country has had enough. “A lot of people voted with their wallet. Lots voted silently for Trump, I believe,” he said.
Bunker, who grew up in Chilmark, also saw literal signs that Harris would lose. “The enthusiasm was there in 2020. [This year] you barely see yard signs for Harris. That was a local barometer for me that she wasn’t qualified,” he said.
Trump, on the other hand, resonated with Bunker. “Who else jumps in a garbage truck? He almost got his head blown off. Look at what he can accomplish, what he did accomplish last term.”
Outside of Mocha Mott’s in Vineyard Haven, others felt apathetic. Paul Currier, a Vietnam veteran, said he didn’t vote for a president this year. “I was a Trump supporter the first time around, but I didn’t vote this time around, because it’s fruitless in this state,” he said. “I didn’t like any of the candidates, but we survived his other four years. It’s not going to end us.”
And as for all of Trump’s outstanding criminal indictments, including two for his calls for an insurrection on Jan. 6, and his attempt to steal the 2020 election — there are differing legal opinions on how these cases will unfold. But there is a consensus among legal scholars that they are likely to be moot, as Trump can exert executive privilege as the president of the U.S.
At the polls on election day
At the polls through the day on Tuesday, voters were anxious stepping into the booths to cast their ballots. Pollsters in key swing states had been reporting a neck-and-neck presidential race.
“I’m dreaming it’s a landslide so we don’t have to deal with fights in the streets,” said Pierre Guerin, casting his ballot at Edgartown Town Hall along with his partner, Susan Guerin, on Tuesday morning. Both said they voted for Harris-Walz.
“We have to save democracy and women’s rights,” Susan Guerin said. “The Republican Party has gone to hell in a handbasket. Maybe we need more than two parties.”
Joe and Marianne Carter voted for Harris-Walz as well, noting that they were “way more” anxious about the outcome compared with prior years.
“It’ll be nice to get back to a day where we can have a rational discussion of issues without people getting too emotional,” Joe Carter said.
On the other side of the aisle, there were some expressing enthusiasm for another Trump presidency. Anthony Lorenze said he voted for Trump-Vance to “make America great again.”
“A lot of things are about to change in the world for the better,” Lorenze said after stepping out of the town hall. “I just don’t understand how people can vote for liberal government — when it’s not their money, all government should be conservative.
“The outcome of the election, when all is said and done, will be biblical,” he added.
Others at the polls expressed excitement. Ursula Kreskey didn’t share whom she voted for, but said she felt “fantastic.”
“I’m so excited to be in this country, and I wouldn’t miss a chance to come out and vote for what I believe in,” she said. “I’m excited that so many people are getting out, that they care about what’s happening for this country for the next four years.”
In Oak Bluffs, town clerk Colleen Morris said the polls have been “steady all day.” As of about 1:30 pm, 922 ballots were cast, or more than 50 percent of voters.
“Everyone’s just quietly voting,” Morris said, noting that there hadn’t been any interruptions or disturbances.
Jeff Glasser, who came to the Oak Bluffs polls with his dog Angel, said he has friends on both sides of the political aisle, and many people are not comfortable voting for Harris or Trump, including himself. He declined to say whom he voted for. “I’ve never seen so many so seriously far apart,” he said about the polarization of the country.
In Tisbury, Vineyarders moved smoothly through polls at the Emergency Services Facility.
Couple Jack and Joanne Connolly had just cast their ballots for Harris-Walz. Speaking to The Times, Jack Connolly shared that he showed up particularly fueled by “anxiety,” compared with past elections.
If Harris had won, Jack Connolly had pledged to his family that he’d go for a swim outside, a pastime of sorts: “I made a promise before the [2020] election that if Biden won, I would go swimming the day after the election results, no matter what the weather was … I made the same promise this year. If Harris wins … I go swimming, even if it’s 40°,” he said.
On other ballot issues, the Connollys also voted to keep the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment Test as a graduation requirement for students.
“I feel that it’s important that there be a standard,” Joanne Connolly said. “Hopefully for the kids that don’t pass it, they’ll come up with another alternative.”
Election night
As the day turned to evening, the anxiety did not subside, but grew greater for many. Some watched the results come in on their own, some in local bars, while many gathered at election parties.
For the Democratic Council on the Vineyard, Jonathan Chatinover and his wife Beth O’Connor had assembled a nerve center of sorts at their home for under a dozen guests. MSNBC was on TV, flanked by Harris-Walz banners, a jumbo notepad with the closing times for swing-state polls, and a “ROAD TO 270” easel that Chatinover updated throughout the night.
The couple provided guests with an offering of pizza, appetizers, and beer, but not everyone felt like eating as they settled in.
“I’m a little sick,” said Leslie Craven, swim coach at the high school, as results from some swing states started to filter in.
Around 10:30, half of the partygoers remained, and O’Connor hadn’t seen much to be happy about. “It’s not looking as good as I was expecting,’ she said. “I think the hope was that she would be closer in Florida and Texas, not that she would be smashed.”
On Tuesday morning, the council released a statement on Facebook.
“We gave it our all, dnd we thank Kamala Harris and Tim Walz for their campaign of unity, joy, opportunity, and freedom. Thanks to everyone who held a sign, made phone calls, wrote postcards, knocked on doors, wore a button, and voted for Harris-Walz. We are sad today but will keep moving forward.”
Daniel Greenman, Eunki Seonwoo, Nicholas Vukota, and Sam Houghton contributed to this report.
The post was updated to reflect a change in street name.
