Voters across the Tri-State react after Donald Trump declares election night victory
NEW YORK (WABC) -- Residents and voters across the Tri-State area are weighing in on the results of the 2024 presidential election, less than 24 hours after Donald Trump declared victory, in one of the most momentous comebacks in political history.
While it was no surprise that New York, New Jersey and Connecticut's electoral votes went to Vice President Kamala Harris, a deeper look into the numbers show that voters in certain parts of the Tri-State turned up in droves to support Trump.
Eyewitness News took to several neighborhoods and communities in New York City and on Long Island to get a pulse on how people are feeling one day after elections.
Harris support wanes slightly in Brooklyn, Bronx and Queens
For many voters, everything is coming up roses in the heart of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn where a Donald Trump win is being celebrated.
Larry Vento, a life-long Democrat, instead voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020.
"I thought the country was reaching out and saying, we need some changes," he said.
He's part of a shift that's unfolding in the area, in parts of Queens and the Bronx.
Polls show, while those living in New York City voted for Harris by a more than 2-1 margin, Trump managed to break the 30% threshold. That's compared to 23% in 2020, and 18% in 2016.
Vento believes Trump's priority should be immigration.
"We need to tidy up what's going on here, need to worry about people who work all there loves, hard workers and this country needs to be sealed up and taken care of first," Vento said.
Meanwhile, Bay Ridge resident Judy Anderson, a Harris supporter, said that those who voted for Harris were fighting for everybody's rights, while those who voted for Trump were fighting for themselves.
In Flatbush, back in 2020, the neighborhood was mostly dark blue, indicating Democratic support. This year, there was more light blue, meaning that the party had less of a stronghold.
Support shifts overwhelmingly to Trump on Long Island
The trend towards Trump was even more apparent on Long Island, where voters turned out in droves to vote for the former president.
The Long Island Expressway is the great connector between the city and suburbia, but the reality is that life off the exits is vastly different. Folks in Suffolk County now openly calls it "Trump Country."
"Very happy that Trump won," said Dix Hills resident Laura Pacello. "Things need to change, so it's time that they do."
In neighboring Commack, the same familiar signs and themes of Trump's campaign were seen.
They answer his familiar question, "Are you better off now than you were four years ago?"
"Can't save like you used to, you have to work more, longer hours," said Commack resident Casey Rock.
There was a lot of talk about the higher costs of food and gas, and Trump's message on immigration.
"He's going to clean up the borders, but he wants immigrants here, but you know, come in the right way, just like everyone else," said Dix Hills resident Samir Kassim.
Suffolk County, where Trump won back in 2020 by a razor thin margin of only 232 votes, won by nearly 80,000 this time around.
In Nassau County, Biden won by nearly 70,000 votes in 2020, but in 2024, Trump won by more than 33,000.
"You had a significant number of male Latino and Blacks voting for Trump, in numbers that we have never seen," said Larry Levy of the National Center for Suburban Studies.
Latinos in the Bronx explain voting decisions from this year's election
Eyewitness News reporter Marcus Solis went to the Bronx, home of 814,000 Latinos, more than half of the population of the borough, to get a first-hand explanation of this development.
David Miranda, a proud Puerto Rican and former Democrat living in Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's congressional district, voted for Trump.
"America's got to get back to what America was when I was a young kid, it was a beautiful thing," he said. "Now, I don't know America anymore. It has changed a lot."
He's not alone. Final numbers aren't in yet, but data from a very small sample size in Castle Hill shows it's gone red, with Trump doubling the number of votes he won in 2020.
That's where Knockout Barbershop is located. Trump made a campaign stop here last month.
Business owner Javiel Rodriguez is also Puerto Rican, and also a life-long democrat. He believes Latino support for the president elect has grown for reasons not much different than those of other voters.
"The party's policies. They way he wants to bring up the economy. The way he wants to place safety, the way he wants to close borders, the schools... the teaching, the kids. All that, I like for him," Rodriguez said.
In May, Trump staged a rally in Crotona Park to court minority support in the borough, but the comments 10 days ago by a comic who referred to Puerto Rico as a floating island of garbage sparked protests. How did Latino supporters reconcile that?
"I feel a little uncomfortable, but you know what, it's not about our people, it's the people that are running the country... the state of Puerto Rico," Rodriguez said.
"In my opinion, he didn't mean it any harm, he's just saying that the Democrats ruined Puerto Rico," Miranda said.
Black vote not enough to propel Harris presidential bid
Black voters showed up for Kamala Harris in the 2024 president election, though it was not enough to get her over the finish line.
"I was really surprised just to see the margin of the level of Black people and Latino people that move to his side in four years," said Harlem resident Nancy Gonzalez.
"I don't vote personally, because all this stuff going on, we're not going to," said Harlem resident Amidu Kone. "Nothing's going to happen. "If I start watching the news more, if I start seeing change, then next year, I'll vote.
Experts on race and politics say the Black vote isn't what hurt Harris's bid.
"We still have a number of people who just simply, in my sincere, humble opinion, were never going to vote for a Black woman to be the president of the United States," said Melvin Williams, associate professor at Pace University. "There was this sad belief or sad assumption that Black men wouldn't show up or Kamala Harris or Black men wouldn't show up as prominent and powerful voting demographic. And obviously, the initial numbers that are coming in, they are being debunked."
But Williams says there were racial divisions stoked during the campaign that may have factored into the Black vote.
"There were numerous tactics throughout this election on behalf of the Trump campaign to really belittle and raise public question about Kamala Harris's blackness, and unfortunately, a significant amount of the Black community fed into it," Williams said.
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