Disillusioned: WA voters react to Biden's narrow lead over Trump

As nationwide results of the 2020 presidential election come trickling in, Washington state voters say they are feeling mixed emotions about the toss-up between President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden.

Some say they're cautiously optimistic. Others say disillusionment is setting in.

M

y heart hurts. Doesn’t feel like we have the tools we need to heal the country. There is a very large portion of the country that doesn’t want to heal.

Someone told me Biden winning would be like winning the Super Bowl. For me, it feels more like winning the Conference Championship to advance to the Super Bowl, but losing half your team to injury.

I’m also disappointed in the massive error in polling again. We didn’t learn a thing from last election.

—Brian from Bellevue

F

eeling cautiously optimistic tonight!

I have definitely not felt optimistic throughout the election cycle overall. I would say I have felt more optimistic over the course of the last week or two, though. Especially following debate performances/mishaps.

—Evan from Seattle

I

am a Washington voter and a military member stationed out of state. The election makes me sad and angry. It’s sad to see that so many fellow Americans think that the current president is going a good job when he has done a great deal of damage to our national security, and our standing on the global stage.

I’m angry that we have failed to educate the voters of our nation in the details of our democracy, as is evident by the statements made by so many.

—Dawn from Leavenworth

F

eeling more optimistic as the day rolls on. But also absolutely destroyed (but not surprised) by the blatant racism our country has, yet again, shown is core to who we are. Even if Biden wins, the systems put in place make me overwhelmed — the Electoral College, gerrymandering, prison industrial complex, racism ... the list goes on and on.

I'm worried and fearful that if Biden does win, the intense conversations we've been having around systemic and generational racism will be swept under the rug.

—Phoebe from Seattle

Biden’s win will be bittersweet. Dealing with another Mitch McConnell-led Senate may be almost as awful as dealing with Trump. And knowing that so many people were totally okay with another four years of Trump is agonizing.

—Natalie from Tacoma

It's infuriating how the Democratic Party refuses to change, when time and time again, it is shown that they need to change. This election is this close despite the coronavirus: A disaster so big and omnipresent in daily life that even if handled properly, it would have likely cost any other politician their career.

At this point, I'm not even mad at Trump voters — at least not any more than usual. They're entrenched — they weren't going to change, Trump wasn't going to change. It fell to Biden to make an actual push, to give people something to hope for in the future, to inspire people of the potential that the future could hold. And he not only failed to do so, he didn't even try.

—Justin from Seattle

The first time I was able to vote was in 2008 with the election of Obama. I voted for him, and even was able to convince a bunch of the folk in my district at the caucus how so many people my age felt energized and excited by the thought of him being elected president. I felt like people older than me validated my thoughts on where this country should be going.

This campaign and the last one though, it seems like those people who believed in me at that time no longer believe in people my age and younger. And I’m honestly baffled what could even be going on in their mind — to continue to want to elect someone who has said and done so many horrible things to people in the country he is supposed to serve; horrible things he has bragged about even.

—Samm from Auburn

I am not at all surprised that the race is this close. And after the dramatic miscalculation of 2016, I don't understand why anyone puts real trust in polling before the election. I have heard anecdotally from Republicans that they don't trust sentiment polls, and I think that may be part of why we keep getting this wrong.

In 2016, we liberals were in shock, and I know that I personally had a hard time understanding how anyone would vote for Trump. But we can't make the same mistake and gawk in horror — we need to be more curious about why nearly half the country favors Trump.

If we're not curious about that, what's the solution? We'll just continue to hate on half of our fellow Americans and refuse to talk to them about why they vote the way they do.

—Keena from Seattle

I'm feeling extremely uncertain about the aftermath of the election, no matter who wins. It could be very unpredictable, and thats giving me and a good amount of folks anxiety, even in a deep blue state like Washington.

—Robert from Camano Island

How do I feel? I'd prefer a broader mandate, [Democratic] control of the Senate. And for the love of God, when are Dems going to start really talking to and with Latinos, in all their disparate, non-monolithic messiness?

—Tracy from Seattle