ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SIX YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM

In a large upset victory, 

Republican 
nominee 
Donald 

Trump won the presidential 
election 
after 
capturing 

Wisconsin, North Carolina and 
Pennsylvania, which Democrats 
had considered crucial to their 
victory. The race was called at 
2:30 a.m. by the Associated Press.

On campus, which largely 

voted against Trump, his election 
sparked some celebration, but also 
significant anxiety and concern 
from many students because of 
his policies on immigrants,

Trump 
will 
be 
the 
first 

candidate to be elected to the 
White House without having 
previously served in elected office 
or the military, and his victory 
comes after most polls predicted 
strong chances of a Clinton 
victory.

As 
of 
early 
Wednesday 

morning, Michigan’s electoral 
votes were still too close to call, 
but their outcome will not impact 
Trump’s win. The state, along 
with several of the ones that 

spurred Trump to victory, was 
originally supposed to be a part 
of Democratic nominee Hillary 
Clinton’s “blue wall” in the 
Midwest. Polls throughout the 
election season showed the state 
leaning towards Clinton but in the 
days prior to the election, similar 
to other states that emerged as 
unexpected 
battlegrounds 
in 

Trump’s path to victory Tuesday 
evening, the state came into 
question again as a potential 
upset for Trump as the race 
narrowed. As of 2:30 a.m., Trump 
was leading with 48.1 percent in 
Michigan. If he wins, he will be 
the first GOP nominee to carry 
the state since 1988.

Because 
of 
the 
closeness 

of the race, both Trump and 
Clinton made some of their final 
campaign pitches in the state. The 
University was also one of several 
places nationwide to receive 
a visit from President Barack 
Obama Monday, who campaigned 
for Clinton on campus in a bid to 
enthuse students and other state 
residents.

Monday night in Grand Rapids, 

at Trump’s final rally, he told the 
crowd that a victory in Michigan 

would translate to a nationwide 
triumph.

“If we win Michigan, we will 

win this historic election and then 
we truly will be able to do all of 
the things we want to do,” he said.

Upon the first announcement 

of his candidacy, Trump was 
not taken seriously by both 

the media and the public, but 
he quickly gained support and 
corresponding media coverage. 
He has built his campaign around 
what now makes his presidency 
unique — being the first president 
elected with no experience in 
politics or the military — and 
overcoming 
significant 
doubt 

along the way.

LSA junior Enrique Zalamea, 

president of the University’s 
chapter 
of 
the 
College 

Republicans, wrote in an email 
interview that he is excited to see 
the country elect a leader who 
he believes will best guide the 
country. The College Republicans 
endorsed Trump early in the 
semester, several months after he 
was selected as the nominee.

“We are incredibly blessed to 

see how the American people 
have recognized that Trump is 
the candidate to truly represent 
the American people, Christian 
values, and conservative ideals,” 
he wrote. “We are exuberant to 
see the end of 8 years of Obama, 
and cannot wait to help continue 
to 
bridge 
the 
gap 
between 

millennials and politics under a 
Trump presidency.”

However, for many University 

students, comments that Trump 
made throughout his campaign 
both in speeches and online on 
immigrants, Muslim Americans, 
African Americans and women 
sparked 
significant 
concern 

Wednesday morning. 

Several 
students 
expressed 

fear for the safety of their family 

Throughout the 2016 presidential 

election, candidates from both 
major political parties visited the 
University of Michigan and other 
locations across the state leading 
up to the primaries and general 
election to mobilize millennial 
voters. While this key electorate has 
had low voter participation rates 
historically, University students 
have deviated from that trend in 
this presidential election.

Over the past few months, The 

Michigan Daily polled a sample 
of University students about their 
voting habits and priorities in the 
election, in effect creating a profile 
of student voters on campus.

In terms of overall preference in 

the election, the most recent poll, 
conducted on Nov. 6, upheld the 
ongoing trend that most University 
student identified as a Democrat. 
In the Nov. 6 poll, 54 percent of 
respondents said their beliefs most 
aligned with the Democratic Party. 
In contrast, 19 percent identified 
with the Republican Party, similar 

to earlier polls as well.

Over the past few weeks of 

polling, 
those 
numbers 
have 

shifted. The data has shown 
support for the Democratic Party 
has grown marginally among 
students, from 51 percent on Sept. 
30 to 55 percent as of Nov. 6. For 
Republican supporters, alignment 
with the party has also grown at a 
narrow rate over this time, rising 
from 16 percent to 19 percent.

In comparison to millennials on 

a national level, University students 
identify less strongly with the 
Republican Party, instead spreading 
their support amongst third parties 
or identifying as independents. Pew 
Research found that voters aged 18 
to 33 tilt Democratic 51 percent of 
the time and Republican 35 percent 
of the time.

As well, University students 

are also more civically engaged 
during elections than national data 
indicates the average student is. 
In particular for the 2016 election, 
student and residential turnout in 
Ann Arbor was exceptionally high 
compared to the national 2016 
average.

michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Wedesday, November 9, 2016

Many student Republicans celebrate, but GOP rhetoric sparks concern for others

LYDIA MURRAY
Daily Staff Reporter
CAITLIN REEDY
Daily Staff Reporter

279

Electoral Votes
218

Electoral Votes
48%
Popular Vote
47%
Popular Vote

In Michigan Daily polls, student voters on campus 
are more liberal, engaged than average milllennial

Students find fear in unexpected Trump victory

“We are 

exuberant to see 
the end of 8 years 

of Obama.” 

Results as of 3:00 a.m.

See ELECTION, Page 3A
See MICHIGAN, Page 3A

ZOEY HOLMSTROM/Daily

