HARTFORD, Conn — Disappointment and excitement are among the many feelings people across Connecticut are feeling after Donald Trump was declared the winner of the 2024 presidential election Tuesday.
“I kind of really thought we were heading towards like a time of change in the country, and clearly we just aren’t there yet,” Central Connecticut State University senior, Karena Kulajkowski, said.
Trump will serve another term in the White House after being elected by millions of Americans. He is the first Republican presidential candidate since George W. Bush in 2004 to win the popular vote and the electoral college.
The results of this election left voters with a variety of emotions.
Zachary Foti, a senior at Quinnipiac University, said he felt a whirlwind of emotions as the numbers started to come in on Tuesday night.
“I had really no clue what was going to happen,” he said. “You looked at all the polling data, everything was pointing that it was going to come down to those seven or so swing states and all of those swing states were going to be decided by razor thin margins.”
New voter Allison Sambor said it was a great feeling voting for the first time.
“I would say it’s very exciting because this is my first election I got to vote in,” she said. “I was happy with the outcome, and it was really close, but it was exciting to see as each state came in last night.”
It’s no secret the country is divided on how they feel about the election results, and the reactions are far and wide across social media.
“It’s a lot of disappointment to put it lightly,” Foti said. “Obviously, there’s more colorful language on some post than others, but it’s just a general, you know, a lot of students are worried, particularly female students.”
Students on CCSU’s campus say they are worried for other students, while others are shocked that Trump won by so much.
“I’m an independent voter, so I didn’t have strong views one way or another,” freshman James Studley said. “I wasn’t really confident in either candidate, but it shaped out alright. I was shocked with the outcome to be honest. I thought it was going to be a lot closer, but Trump dominated in the swing states, and he came out on top.”
In northeast Connecticut, there’s a store dedicated to all things Donald Trump.
The manager of that store, Kenneth Krajewski, says he’s thrilled to see Trump elected again.
“We’re going to have hopefully no more wars,” Krajewski, manager of the New England for Trump store, said. “He’s going to end the war in Ukraine and all the other wars that are about to happen or with the nuclear testing that never happened when he was in office.”
Church-goers at Immanuel Congregational Church in Hartford feel different.
"His policies, his values, the way he speaks about human beings are unethical to the way that we understand Jesus taught and lived and the way he died,” Reverend Dr. Jay said.
Jay, and members of his congregation, gathered for prayer, hoping for solidarity for the future of this country.
“We’re here to say that though we respect the humanity of President Donald Trump, we also very significantly disagree with his values,” Jay said.
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Kaye Paddyfote is a multimedia journalist for FOX61 News. She can be reached at kpaddyfote@fox61.com. Follow her on X, Facebook and Instagram.
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