On November 5th and the weeks prior, waves of Ames voters flocked to the polls to cast their ballots. 71% of registered voters in Ames and other parts of Story County turned out to vote in the 2024 election, despite cold weather and lines up to two hours long. While perspectives varied, many sought to prevent Donald Trump from winning the presidency yet again. They favored Kamala Harris in what many viewed as an election of the utmost urgency.

“I’m focused on the status of our country and the stark disparities between the candidates. I will be voting for Harris,” said Ames voter Debbie Johnson.

Harris ultimately received 54 percent of the vote in Story County, with many precincts in Ames voting for her in even higher numbers. Yet as a liberal enclave in an increasingly Republican state, Ames has become something of a blue dot in a sea of red. While Harris also received the majority of the votes in the cities of Des Moines, Iowa City, and Cedar Rapids, rural areas propelled Trump towards Iowa’s six electoral votes and victory by a 13-point margin. 

Trump’s win in Iowa was a stepping-stone on the way to national victory – the president-elect received similar support across the US, winning both the popular vote and Electoral College.

Pre-Election Excitement

Excitement and anxiety were high in Ames during the weeks leading up to the election. On the Iowa State campus, voter registration drives were in full gear. First-time voter and ISU student Paola Martinez took part in these efforts, hoping that her peers would turn out. The university’s 30,000 plus students comprise a significant and influential part of the local electorate. 

“I really want students on campus to vote,” said Martinez. “There has been a lot of good feedback.”

Martinez explained that her fellow students had not had many troubles with voting, but did acknowledge some setbacks. “We didn’t know if Puerto Ricans could vote – they can, but many were told that they couldn’t,” she said. Apart from this issue, she expressed surprise at the speed and efficiency of the voting process in Ames.

Many voters in Ames had felt optimistic about Harris’s chances. They found further encouragement less than a week before Election Day when a Des Moines Register poll run by widely renowned pollster J. Ann Selzer estimated that Harris had a 3-point lead in Iowa. However, some voters exercised skepticism, finding it unlikely that the Democratic candidate could win a state that Trump carried in the 2016 and 2020 elections.

“The new [Selzer] poll gives me flashbacks to the 2016 election, when the polls proved to be incorrect,” said Shane Krug, an in-person voter on Election Day.

Krug’s apprehension proved to be justified, as the poll ended up missing by sixteen points in Iowa. Trump dramatically overshot his polling averages both across the state and throughout the rest of the country en route to victory.

Worries About Trump

Many Ames voters worry that a second Trump presidency will threaten their rights. Trump was often accused of using misogynistic and homophobic rhetoric on the campaign trail, and advocates for women’s rights and the LGBTQ+ community have expressed their concerns.

“The key issues for me are LGBTQ rights, women’s rights, the right to have an abortion, and trans rights,” said Eve Galvin. 

Galvin, who voted in Ames on Election Day, worried especially about the latter group. 

“As far as trans rights, I hope for accessibility to hormones, healthcare, and equal rights in school and public places.”

Since Trump’s victory, mental health crisis lines have seen major spikes in calls from trans youth, a group that the president-elect has frequently targeted. Republicans spent close to $215 million on anti-trans advertising throughout this election cycle, and Trump plans to reinstate discriminatory laws against the trans community. This includes the potential revival of a transgender military ban from his first term that had been repealed by Joe Biden.

Many Ames voters shared Galvin’s other concerns, especially on the issue of reproductive rights. Trump has taken credit for the reversal of Roe v. Wade – his appointments to the Supreme Court helped to consolidate the conservative majority that eliminated the federal right to an abortion.

“I’m concerned about potential oversteps of the government. It isn’t their place to tell us which reproductive rights we have,” said Ethan Atwell, an early voter at the Ames Public Library. 

For Atwell, this issue has a personal significance. “My family did IVF, so we will be directly affected by decisions on reproductive rights,” he explained. 

Atwell decided to vote for Harris with this issue in the front of his mind. While Trump has said that he will federally mandate in-vitro fertilization treatments, Democrats say that some conservative elements of the GOP will pressure him into restricting IVF and abortion.

Atwell also favors Harris’s policies on education. “Public schools should be adequately funded and people shouldn’t be drowning in student loans,” he said.

In line with plans to cut public school funding, Trump has proposed dismantling the Department of Education, expanding school choice programs, and limiting discussions of race, gender, and politics in the classroom. The Department of Education is responsible for a portion of public funding, including Title I funding for low-income schools and students.

Maggie Kretzmann, another early voter at Ames Public Library, worries especially about this. “It would be a terrible blow to society if Trump cut the Department of Education,” she said.

Other voters in Ames were disturbed by Trump’s recent anti-immigrant rhetoric, including an inflammatory rally at Madison Square Garden just days before the election in which Trump and guest speakers repeatedly made prejudiced comments.

“I’m from Sudan, and I’m worried about the way we view refugees, the way we view other countries, and I think there is a lot of racism,” said Tessa Musa, who voted in Ames on Election Day.

Support for Trump

While the majority of Ames voters preferred Harris, others stood firm in their support of Trump.

“Kamala [Harris] is backwards on everything,”said early voters Donald and Judy Eberhart. They were excited to cast their ballots for Trump and sought to keep Harris out of office.

The Eberharts believe that Trump will bolster the national defense and effectively enforce border security. They also favor Trump’s foreign policy, arguing that he would achieve peace in Ukraine and strengthen ties with Israel. “Israel needs our support,” they said.

In the hours after the Associated Press declared Trump’s victory, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy quickly congratulated the president-elect. While Trump’s policy will undoubtedly be pro-Israel, it is unclear whether he will continue offering support to Ukraine and NATO.

Post-Election Reflections

In the wake of Trump’s election victory, many voters feel that the future of the United States is shrouded in uncertainty. The president-elect will be sworn in on January 20th of next year, but until then, the country waits with bated breath.

Across Ames, Iowa, political signs have started to disappear from yards and polling places have returned to their normal functions. Yet while some citizens were unhappy with the results of the election, positives can be taken away from the process. Voter turnout in Ames has remained steady from past elections, and individuals within the community were respectful of each other and their opinions. Voter Shane Krug offered an insight that could be all the more important in the years ahead.

“I believe that people must be free to be who they are. If they can’t expect this then they won’t be able to excel, and this country won’t excel.”