As the vote counts rolled in on November 5, 2024, Kamala Harris's supporters quickly lost hope. Faces fell when results from Georgia and Ohio projected those states' electoral votes going to former President Donald Trump. Harris trailed Trump in exit polls throughout the night. Not even California and Washington's delegates could push her close to Trump's numbers.

Voters remain resilient at The Wildrose
Across Seattle, voters gathered to watch the results. Drinks were flowing at The Wildrose, where many attempted to drown their sorrows with shots. Conversations around the bar remained mostly hopeful, with patrons reminding one another that they survived the last four Trump years, and can persevere again.

However, outside, a group of friends took a smoke break and got candid about their sorrow. "It's not processing," first-time voter Rome Carroll told the SGN. Carroll was 14 the first time Trump was elected, and even then she remembered feeling the gravity of the situation.

"I remember being in middle school and having a Queer teacher and crying, because I knew what it meant to have Trump win. He said it would be fine, and we weren't fine," she said, referencing the Supreme Court justices Trump appointed who overturned Roe v. Wade.

Since the ruling, and consequential abortion bans in red states, reports have started coming out about women such as 28-year-old mother Josseli Barnica, who died from complications related to a miscarriage. Doctors waited 40 hours to treat Barnica due to Texas anti-abortion laws that threatened to revoke medical licenses of doctors who perform or assist in abortions.

Carroll doesn't believe we'll all be fine. She fears the next four years may be even darker than the last Trump presidency. Like many Americans, Carroll felt major 2016 déjà vu: "I feel the same way now, sitting in this Lesbian bar, where everyone is kind of telling me, 'You're gonna be fine.' It's a welcome energy being here with fellow Queer people, but also I don't know how much I agree. It's a little bit questionable. I'm scared to be a Queer person here."

The other women outside The Wildrose echoed Carroll's despair. "I'm disappointed and I'm really sad and scared for a lot of my Trans friends, and a lot of my DACA friends," Jessica Collins said.

Maybe it was the drinks or the drunk cigarettes, but Carroll and Collins's friend, Bianca Quist, admitted she was feeling a mix of emotions, including gratitude for The Wildrose's Queer feminine space. "I am feeling verklempt. I am feeling forlorn," Quist said. "But, you know what, I'm also feeling a sense of hope at The Wildrose that everything is going to be okay."

Queer Bar watches election results in silence
Down the street, at Queer Bar, an election night watch party progressed. The room grew more quiet as Trump's path to victory became certain. By 10 p.m., it felt less like a bar and more like a wake.

After all the votes were in, Andrew Wittkowske stepped outside to get air. "It's gone wrong," he said with a look of despair on his face. "We're watching President Trump collect votes left, right, and center. It's kind of hard to watch. There's so many things on the line: women's rights, abortion rights. It's just hard to watch."

Though Wittkowske now lives in Seattle, he formerly resided in Florida. Still registered in the deeply red state, he decided to vote in Florida, to have a say on many of the state's initiatives, including ones to legalize abortion and recreational marijuana. Both initiatives failed.

"I'm glad I just moved to Washington, so I'm at least in a safe place, hopefully," Wittkowske said.

Throughout his campaign, Trump emphasized increasing oil drilling. The Heritage Project's "Project 2025" also proposes spending cuts for climate change research, though Trump has insisted throughout his campaign that he knows nothing of "Project 2025." Regardless, if prior climate trends continue under Trump's second term, a symposium by Washington State University and the University of Portland predicted that more Southern residents like Wittkowske may make their way to the Pacific Northwest in the coming years, especially as major climate events such as Hurricanes Milton and Helene continue to rock the Gulf Coast.

Aside from women's rights and climate change, young voters like Carroll and Collins are also feeling anxious about their futures. "I just got into my first quarter of college, but now with Trump's plan to defund the Department of Education and cut the Pell Grant and everything, that's how I pay for my school," Collins said.

Carroll had originally put off college, having graduated high school during the pandemic. "I was gonna go and try and get a degree. I skipped getting a degree because by the time I graduated high school, I was still dealing with the fallout of COVID and everything with the Trump presidency, the first one," she said. "I was going to go get a degree, but we might leave the country now."

"It kind of feels like no matter what, they are gonna win. They don't play by the rules, and that sucks," Collins added.

Progressives blame lack of outreach
Many Seattle voters like Carroll and Collins had believed the close polls weren't accurate and that Harris had a clear path to victory. Throughout the campaign, news outlets highlighted stories about former Trump voters who had decided to vote for Harris. It seemed like the moderate Republican vote was leaning toward a progressive change, but some voters feel it was Harris's rejection of progressive leftist voters that may have cost her the election.

Seattle-based Queer filmmaker and comedian Ian Crowley believes Harris spent too much time campaigning on the promise that conservatives would cross party lines to support her to prevent a Trump presidency. "In an attempt to pander to the center and right, Harris actively alienated progressive voters with her campaign's positions on issues such as immigration, fracking, and Gaza — just to name a few," he said.

"People voted for Biden in 2020 because he offered a change from Donald Trump. By 2024, Americans had experienced inflation and real negative wage growth under Biden," Seattle-based research analyst Spencer Thulin told the SGN. "They wanted a change from the status quo, and Harris didn't effectively distance herself from Biden and didn't effectively communicate how she would be different.
"This, combined with her running to the right on immigration — essentially adopting a 2016 Trump framing of the southern border, a drastic change from the Democrats' 2020 platform — caused many in her base to not show up and vote.

"So the 'rightward shift' many are seeing is not a result of a genuine change in ideology but from a depressed turnout for Democrats."

A rough morning after
As the sun came up on November 6, Seattle seemed quieter. TikTok think pieces were already rolling out, and Democrats began posting obligatory Instagram stories shaming their conservative friends and family who voted against their rights.

In one of Seattle's most beloved establishments, business was booming. Across King County, Top Pot cafes sold out of pastries. "All our stores ran out by 9:00 or 9:30 this morning," Julie Hartley, a barista at Capitol Hill's location on Summit told the SGN.

Top Pot typically sells around 300 donuts on an average Wednesday, according to Hartley. It's rare to sell out, let alone before noon. "Our bakery made more to bring, so some [stores] may get more again," she said, reassuring the many customers who arrived to mend their broken hearts with donuts, only to find an empty case.

Hartley has worked at Top Pot for over a decade and said she wasn't surprised by the busy morning rush. "It was really busy the day of the election, excitement on the day of, and sadness the day after," she said. "We experienced the same thing when Hilary Clinton lost. We've been through this a couple of times."

Despite the depressing atmosphere across town today, most Seattleites are still grateful to live in a progressive city, even if its echo chamber disconnects us from the views of the rest of the country.

"It's interesting growing up in bubbles like this... in Seattle. I grew up in Berkley, California," Carroll said. "I think we tend to be a little sheltered and [mistaken] that everyone is on the same page, because [we are] in a city where everyone is on the same page. Watching the election is a harsh reality — seeing how much hate people have for us and our people. Not just us, but people of color, the Black people in this country, the single mothers, and immigrants. I think it's hard watching everyone as a collective have that realization yet again. At the same time, I'm proud of how much joy we're having in the midst of it."

The LGBTQ+ community has seen many dark days, whether during the Trump presidency, before it, or after. There may be immense struggles to come, but we are resilient and will continue to lean on and protect each other. This election is truly a reminder that community is our greatest power. Reach out to your friends, especially your Trans, BIPOC, immigrant, and disabled friends. Today is a sad day for many, but there will be joy again.

If you or someone you know is struggling, please consider reaching out to one of these resources:

• For QTBIPOC mutual aid and community events, check out Alphabet Alliance. https://alphabetalliance.org/

• For confidential and culturally relevant support with sexual assault, contact API Chaya. https://alphabetalliance.org/ You can also call 1-877-922-4292.

• For immigrant rights, legal services, and HIV/AIDS care, reach out to Entre Hermanos. https://entrehermanos.org/

• For Trans, Nonbinary, and Two-Spirit civil rights resources, reach out to the Gender Justice League. https://www.genderjusticeleague.org/ (206) 538-0423, or, [email protected]

• If you are the parent, grandparent, or guardian of a Trans or Nonbinary child seeking support or resources, reach out to Gender Spectrum and Gender Spectrum Youth Programs. https://www.genderspectrum.org/home

• If you need legal help or representation, consider the Lavender Rights Program and QLaw: https://www.lavenderrightsproject.org/ and https://www.qlaw.org/