There were shades of 2016 as the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election wound down in the early hours of Nov. 6.
Democrats hoping for a victory from Vice President Kamala Harris were crushed after early optimism turned into a blowout for former President Donald Trump. Despite long lines and seemingly high turnout, Democrats fell far short of the total number of voters who elected Joe Biden in 2020 and lost the popular vote for the first time since 2004.
While the Democrats sweated late returns in urban areas, Trump’s campaign was ebullient. The former President made inroads with young men, including some Hispanic and Black men, and hopes that poorly received rhetoric at his Madison Square Garden rally — which both attendees and opponents compared to a 1939 Nazi rally — would translate into high Puerto Rican turnout in particular turned out to be off base.
Trump also drew support from women and Black voters, and early calls on states including North Carolina drastically narrowed Democrats’ path to a victory. Pittsburgh City Paper reported extensively on the shifting tides of Election Day at area watch parties and via nationally and locally reported election results following reporting on both candidates’ final pitches to the country at Steel City venues.
Locally, Democrats performed well. Amid a sea of denim and navy sweaters peppered with union T-shirts at the Carpenters and Joiners union hall in Robinson, U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio supporters watched results come in to a soundtrack of Bruce Springsteen and union rally songs.
“It’s going to be a long night, but I can promise you this: It’s trending in the right direction,” Darrin Kelly, president of the Pittsburgh Fire Fighters, said at the gathering.
The race took until after midnight to call.
“We’ve still got some ballots to count, but I think we’re gonna win this thing,” Deluzio told media shortly before the venue closed and guests were asked to leave.
Progressive U.S. Rep Summer Lee also prevailed easily in Pittsburgh and its eastern suburbs.
Elsewhere, City Paper spoke with organizers nervous because of bomb threats (we plan more reporting on this soon). Democratic watch parties grew quiet as it became clear that some elements of the campaign, including reproductive healthcare, didn’t give the party as much of a nationwide boost as expected, including in Congressional races — it ultimately emerged that a more diverse, but more conservative, Senate would be in place for the next President, though votes in House races leave that picture less clear as of this writing.
Whatever voters and party organizers expected, turnout in Allegheny County was extremely high, clocking in at around 74.6%.
That apparently includes members of a coalition of voters for whom Trump’s hostile rhetoric, particularly on immigration and trans rights, is not only not a dealbreaking bug, but an attractive feature.
MAGA politics’ wide acceptance in American politics will have implications for topics ranging from the violence in Gaza and Ukraine, abortion rights, judicial power, public education, and much more. In contrast to 2020, Pittsburgh’s show of support wasn’t enough to propel a Democratic repeat this cycle, and Trump and his ilk will now set many of the terms for the next one.
Colleen Hammond contributed additional reporting to this story as part of the Next Generation Newsroom at the Center for Media Innovation at Point Park University. NGN is a regional news service that focuses on government and enterprise reporting in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Find out more information on foundation and corporate funders here.
Learn more about how to support reporting in the region through tax-deductible donation at nextgenerationnewsroom.org/donate.
This article appears in Oct 30 – Nov 5, 2024.
