There was little doubt Republican Donald Trump would win Alabama in the presidential election. But with a tight race nationally, Alabama Republicans gathered at their headquarters in Hoover Tuesday night to watch returns.
Amid barbecue and a big screen TV, party faithful were elated with a contest that produced president-elect Donald Trump. Every time he picked up a key state, cheers erupted.
Pam Morris, a realtor from Hueytown, wore a red “proud to be a deplorable” T-shirt.
“We have to have someone that is committed to the Judeo-Christian principles this country was founded on,” says Morris.
She says she believes that person is Trump.
Dan Carsen,WBHM
Hueytown resident Pam Morris (left) and her daughter Kari
Party professionals, like Alabama GOP Chairwoman Terry Lathan, were happy with Trump’s victory, but also had down-ballot candidates in mind.
“I’m watching our county races and statewide races, and we are flipping seats, and holding our own,” says Lathan. “[Republicans] picked up quite a few seats around the state — county commissioners, circuit judges, district attorneys, superintendents. So that’s really important to the Republican Party in Alabama as well.”
Lathan says America has been through a Civil War and a Great Depression, and she’s optimistic people can come together after this contentious election.
Some of the people they’ll be coming together with are Alabama Democrats. They gathered for their own watch party in downtown Birmingham Tuesday night. But it was not the night they hoped for.
Gigi Douban,WBHM
Democratic supporters watch election returns at a gathering in Birmingham Tuesday.
No one here really expected a Hillary Clinton victory in Alabama. But they were hoping she would still go on to become the nation’s first female president. Early on, there were cheers. But as the hours wore on and Clinton lost states like North Carolina and Ohio, that optimism gave way to gloom. Marilyn Petitt of Birmingham wiped away tears.
“It’s very disheartening to see the fact that we have so many uneducated people in this country that are supporting a man like Donald Trump,” says Petitt.
Petitt has lived through the Civil Rights movement and Roe v. Wade. She says she fears Trump will undo the nation’s progress in race relations and women’s rights.
At the end of the night outside B&A Warehouse, Gina Mallisham, who works for Birmingham AIDS Outreach, also teared up.
“We were all excited and it was standing room only,” says Mallisham. “I came outside for like two minutes and when I went back in, we lost half the country it seemed like, and half the people in the room if not more, and people were crying.”
She, like many others at the gathering, is extremely worried about a Trump presidency.
“The comment that everybody makes all over the state, that we just take baby steps toward equality and improving human rights, and I think this is a huge step back,” says Mallisham.
She says she wishes she could have a day off work to recover, but life goes on.
Reporting by WBHM’s Dan Carsen and Gigi Douban