Deja Davis
Managing Editor
Emotions and anticipation filled the room as students gathered in the Student Center Ballrooms on Nov. 5 to witness the election results at the 2019 Election Day Watch Party.
Music, games, and food welcomed students as they walked into the watch party.
All executive offices in the state were up for grabs, but students were anxious to see who would get chosen for Governor of Mississippi.
Republican Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves and Democratic State Attorney General Jim Hood were both vying to take Mississippi’s top office.
According to politico.com, Hood has been elected statewide four times, which makes him the most intimidating Democrat to run for governor in years.
Mississippi is still a deeply Republican state, and Reeves has been running strong coming from a contested republican party primary.
“I am very nervous on the outcome of this election, but I am really hoping that the candidates that I chose will take the win,” said Mark Carter, a therapeutic recreation major from Clarksdale Miss.
The host of the event, Jessica Trotter, a senior social work major from Chicago, Ill., was busy putting up decorations and informing students on why she was so excited about the election.
“I was uncertain on how many people would come out to support, but it was a great turn out. I chose to do an event like this to inform students about the importance of voting and just to keep them encouraged to vote because their vote matters with this election specifically,” she said.
Trotter continued, “Many of Jackson State’s student body are out of state residents, however they still have to make it their duty to go out and register to vote.”
Students were engaged in political conversations that could be heard at the tables, while other students completed homework and were on social media promoting the event.
Cadaris Waits, a senior industrial technology major from Jackson, Miss. said, “This election is one of the most important elections for the state of Miss. This is the year where a great amount of the state government is being elected from the governor, Lt. Governor, Secretary of State and more,” said Waits. “This is our future we are voting for. The people who are elected today could very well change the entire dynamic of our state so why not vote.”
As students’ eyes were glued to the projector screen for the final count of votes, the announcement came hat Tate Reeves was elected to the top office in Mississippi.
Many students were disappointed but were also not surprised about the ending results for the election night.
Lakayla Johnson, a junior communicative disorders major from Clarksdale Miss., was one of those students.
“This does not shock me at all. It was our job to go out and vote but the numbers just did not add up. It is just very sad that so many people have paved the way for us to vote and we as a people are still not taking responsibility for doing that,” Johnson stated.
Makaylah Lewis was another disappointed student in the crowd.
“After seeing these results, I am very disappointed. I am from here so it means a lot to me to vote. This election was big, not only for black people, but the state of Miss as a whole. Everyone came out and gave the feedback that people needed to hear and see to make a change,” said Lewis, a senior biology major from Jackson, Miss.
For a complete list of Mississippi election results, visit https://www.sos.ms.gov/Elections-Voting/Pages/2019-Elections-Results
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