The Arbor erupted with cheers Tuesday evening as many students at an election night watch party celebrated Democrats’ sweeping victories to gain control of the U.S. House and Senate.
Early victories for Democrats in North Carolina and Georgia brought the first signs of a strong showing for Democrats. Enthusiasm in the crowd only grew following wins by Amy Acton in Ohio and Annie Andrews in South Carolina.
First year graduate student Wyeth Haddock said he was dissatisfied with the past two years of the Trump administration. Gas prices and the cost of living were among his primary concerns in the election, but “something that just irks me is the level of corruption in our government,” he said.
Once it became clear that Democrats were well on their way to retake control of the House and Senate, left-leaning attendees began to express optimism more vocally.
Students cheered the loudest for victories in Texas, where James Talarico won his seat in the Senate against Trump-backed Attorney General Ken Paxton and Gina Hinojosa won the governorship. Hinojosa defeated incumbent Greg Abbott, who has held the office since 2015. Hinojosa will also be the first Latina governor to be elected in Texas and the first Democrat to be elected to the position since Ann Richards in 1990.
“It’s so exciting. I’m fired up,” said attendee Will Maher ’29. Originally from Dallas, Maher said his whole family was composed of Democrats and that he has been disappointed with previous Republican action in the state.
Several members of the Stanford Democrats phone banked for Talarico. “We’ve been working toward this day since the first day of classes or even before that,” said club co-president Robert Liu ’28.
SNAP and Medicaid were among the central issues for Liu in this year’s election. “Jobs, social welfare, so many things are on the table here,” he said.
Democratic victories continued in California, where Democrat Xavier Becerra beat out Trump-endorsed Republican candidate Steve Hilton in the race for governor. Although other students wished fellow candidate Tom Steyer had advanced in the June primary, Benjamin Yan B.S. ’24 M.S. ’27 said the outcome matched his expectations.
“California is going to [be] California,” said Yan, a master’s student in computer science who has voted in the state since 2022. “I don’t think there was any way I was going to vote for anybody but a Democratic candidate,” he said.
All other statewide offices went to Democrats, including Attorney General Rob Bonta, Lieutenant Governor Fiona Ma and Secretary of State Shirley Weber.
Democrat Sam Liccardo won reelection for California’s 16th district, which includes Stanford. Liccardo previously taught as a lecturer at Stanford following his two terms as mayor of San Jose. He first won election to the office two years ago.
Californians also approved the Regional Transit Measure (Measure RTM), with 61.5 % of voters supporting the transportation legislation as of early Wednesday morning.
The measure will introduce a 0.5% sales tax in four Bay Area counties and a 1% sales tax in San Francisco to help fund local public transit, including BART and Caltrain used by Stanford students.
Earlier in the day, students voting in California took to two campus poll sites to cast their ballots. According to John Bard, Vote Center lead at Tresidder Memorial Union, Tuesday was the center’s busiest day since opening on Saturday.
“Every vote counts,” Bard said. “We do our best to serve everybody that comes through the door and allow them to have their voice heard in the election for whatever candidates and issues are on the ballot.”
Many voters waiting in line found themselves weighing Proposition 40, which would impose a 5% tax on taxpayers with more than $1 billion in assets.
Amari Porter ’27 said she did not fully understand the differences between Propositions 40, 41 and 42, and that the latter two propositions were intentionally confusing. 41 and 42 would both undercut the effects of 40.
As of early Wednesday morning, no clear result had emerged in the ballot measures, though opposition to Proposition 40 outpaced support by more than 10 percentage points.
Other students, like Max Kelly ’29 told The Daily during the day that they were feeling anxious about the election and the state of the country. “I feel like our generation is very disillusioned right now,” Kelly said, citing issues like AI, climate change and war.
Other upsets on Tuesday included the defeat of Maine’s Republican senior senator Susan Collins by Democrat Troy Jackson. Collins has been in office since 1997, making her the longest-serving Republican woman in the senate.
In Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed defeated Mike Rogers, making him the first Muslim U.S. Senator. In the days leading up to the election, Trump had referred to el-Sayed as a “jihadist” and a “lunatic.”
“We were totally floored by Michigan,” said Waleed Haider ’29, co-president of Stanford Democrats, referencing his experience canvassing for El-Sayed in recent days. “What voters see across Michigan, and frankly what students at Stanford have been telling us is, we’re not just voting for Democrats because we don’t like Trump. We want a positive vision for what can be done to construct a better America.”