Georgetown’s College Democrats could have been mistaken for devoted sports fans on Tuesday night in Sellinger Lounge as they cheered their favorite candidates, booed their opponents and hoped beyond hope to see their party claim victory.
Dozens of students haphazardly arranged couches and chairs to catch every moment of election coverage from a big screen projector, wolfing down pizza and refreshments, following races on their laptops and chatting up every possible outcome of election night.
The waiting paid off, and the excitement grew as each Democratic victory blared across the screen, from gubernatorial races to Senate seats to control of the House of Representatives, called for the Democrats early in the night.
“I feel absolutely ecstatic,” GUDC Treasurer Lauryn Bruck (SFS ’08) said. “The results can speak for themselves tonight.”
Those results would resonate loudly across the country. Democrats won control of the House and Senate for the first time since 1994 and picked up six governorships, not to mention a majority of statehouses across the country.
From diehards to passersby, students came to take part in the event and to show support for their political party.
“It’s just fun to be around a group that has similar views and support each other,” Matt Hicks (COL ’10), a GUCD member, said.
The crowd members reacted in unanimity, with applause when the likes of Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) or Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) came on television, and jeers for outgoing Republican Senators Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) and Jim Talent (R-Mo.). Even Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.), who ran for reelection as an independent after losing in the Democratic primary, received a chorus of boos for defeating the Democratic party-sponsored candidate, Ned Lamont.
Sean Andrews (COL ’08), while not a member of GUCD, said this election was one midterm that could not come soon enough for him.
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“I worked for a political consulting firm over the summer, so I do a lot of research on this and know a lot of the districts to look out for. I have been really looking forward to this day,” Andrews said.
Bruck said that the election marked an important shift in the American political landscape.
“We’ve shown to the public that we are the party that is going to advance on issues like Iraq and education that are really important to Georgetown students,” Bruck said. “We had some great victories in toss-up states, and those are all important steps forward.”
Meanwhile, a few blocks north in Burleith, Tom Armstrong (MSB ’07), former chairman of GU College Republicans, held a smaller gathering of about 20 GUCR officers and members.
“I’d say we were cautiously optimistic until the final returns came in,” Armstrong said.
While the election results were not as Armstrong and attendees had hoped, he found some solace in all the energy and dedication that he saw along the campaign trails.
“It was obviously a disappointing night,” Armstrong said, “but I’m still proud of all the work our group did.”
