Biden supporters celebrate across Ohio
Trump supporters cry foul, say ‘stop the steal’
Within minutes of CNN announcing that Vice President Joe Biden had won Pennsylvania on Saturday morning, Mike Preston was out on the corner of Glen Echo Drive and Hudson Street with a Biden 2020 flag in hand.
Preston, 51, of the Sohud neighborhood, waved his flag on the street corner, dancing and cheering after media outlets reported that former Vice President Joe Biden had defeated President Donald Trump in the presidential election.
It wasn’t long before a slew of his neighbors joined him in the celebration. The group of more than a dozen danced, jumped and skated their way along Hudson.
Will Mcnair and his wife, Amber, were walking back from getting their morning coffee when they heard fireworks going off in the neighborhood. So the couple went home, changed into their roller skating gear and played Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA” from their front porch before joining the celebration.
They skated in the intersection of Hudson and Summit streets during red lights, decked out in rainbow sequin pants and American flag shirts. Plenty of passersby honked their horns and clap along with the group. One woman even banged pots and pansout her car window.
“Relief, it’s just such a relief,” Preston said. “We’ve been waiting so long and it’s finally here.”
Downtown, the election results were met with excitement, frustration and indifference as hundreds converged at the Statehouse.
Several demonstrations of Trump supporters and members of progressive organizations supporting causes such as Medicare for all, Black Lives Matter, the Green New Deal, and women’s rights and reproductive justice were already pre-planned to begin at noon.
“I’m very happy that he won and I’m very happy that Kamala is going to be our vice president,” said Leah Good, 55, of Fairfield County, who supports the national, nonpartisan campaign, Count Every Vote. “I just came down to celebrate and promote the idea that every legitimate vote is counted.”
Among the Biden/harris signs, Black Lives Matter posters and rainbow flags in the crowd on the north side of the Statehouse, there was a banner that read, “We don’t want Biden, we want re
venge.” Supporters of some groups, like Socialist Alternative, said they weren’t exactly thrilled about either presidential candidate.
“I think Biden’s presidency is necessary and I did vote for him, but at the same time, I don’t know if what he’s going to do is going to be enough for what everyone needs,” said Kassady Murphy, 24, of Whitehall.
On the west side of the Statehouse, a growing crowd of Trump supporters and attendees of a “Stop the Steal” rally waved Trump/pence flags and signs with messages like “cancel all illegal votes.”
Stan Willis, 64, of Liberty Township said he was protesting corruption and false votes being counted during the election.
“I think it’s premature,” he said of Biden’s win. “I think there needs to be some investigation. It may take a while. We’ll see what happens.”
Shemiah Jones, 46, a Trump supporter from Cleveland, said he was similarly skeptical of the outcome.
“The numbers just don’t support it,” he said. “We’re looking at a government that’s just going to lie to our face. This is bigger than Biden, it’s bigger than Trump. We need to look at the integrity of our elections.”
At times, the Trump and Biden groups did clash. One man holding a large Biden/ Harris ventured over to the west side of the building and engaged in a heated discussion about Trump University, which he described as one of the current president’s “scams.”
At one point, a group of Trump supporters also made their way over to the north side of the building. They shouted, “Thieves!” as one group chanted, “No justice, no peace! No racist police!”
Among the progressive speakers was Morgan Harper, who ran for the 3rd Congressional District against Rep. Joyce Beatty in the midterm election. Though she was defeated, she told the crowd that her focus has been on doing “whatever she could” to get Biden elected in past few months, including voter registration efforts and participating in protests.
“It’s like we can take a little bit of a breath,” said Harper, who encouraged the attendees to keep organizing around the causes despite Biden’s victory. “I’m so grateful to everybody for coming out today. ... We did it. We did it together.” shendrix@dispatch.com @sheridan120 ethompson@dispatch.com @miss_ethompson