Election night 2016 brought sweeping victories for Republicans across the United States Senate, House of Representatives and presidency.
With polls almost unanimously pointing towards Hillary Clinton as the victor, the election of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States came as a shock to some Americans.
Though a surprise, the results have not been unwelcome among students at North Dakota State.
NDSU student Sydney Okeson said she was pleased with the overall outcome of the election.
“I honestly thought that Hillary would win, but I’m happy with the results. I like Trump’s policies and I believe he can get this country back on its feet,” Okeson said.
Donald Trump’s election as president is a source of optimism for NDSU student Willy Jahner, who said Trump’s success as a businessman as being the source of his victory in the presidential election.
Jahner, who acknowledged Clinton’s lead in polls prior to the election, said, “We should all be excited for the future of America, as we are in the hands of one of the most successful individuals of our time.”
Ultimately, the election results were generally unexpected from a political science perspective. The question then is why many polls were wrong.
Kjersten Nelson, an associate professor of political science at NDSU, said a lack of Trump supporter participation as a reason for the oversight in polling.
“It could be the case that Trump supporters were not reporting that they supported Trump — that might suggest some sort of social desirability issue, whereby Trump supporters did not want to report to pollsters that they supported Trump, but then ultimately did support him when they voted,” Nelson said.
Trump’s margin of victory places his electoral vote count at 290 compared to Clinton’s 228, with Michigan, New Hampshire and Arizona still too close to call.
Despite protests of Trump’s election erupting in cities across the U.S., including Portland and Minneapolis, both President Obama and Clinton have encouraged Americans to give the president-elect a chance to lead.
Following Thursday’s meeting between Obama and Trump, Obama told Trump, “We now are going to want to do everything we can to help you succeed because if you succeed, then the country succeeds.”
In her concession speech, Clinton offered her congratulations to Trump.
“Donald Trump is going to be our president. We owe him an open mind and a chance to lead,” Clinton said.