By Eva Fournel and Frankie Puleo
Boston University News Service
The Middlesex Lounge in Cambridge hosted a pro-Kamala Harris watch party on Election Day to offer support and foster community during the year’s most anticipated night for Americans.
“I want to be around a bunch of people who are feeling similarly to how I am feeling,” said Belinda Hernandez, a Mexican-American Bostonian. “So if I want to breathe, it’s easier to do that when I know I’m not alone in my feelings.”
As voters in the Boston area were mentally preparing for a long night of waiting, they found comfort in gathering amongst strangers to endure the uncertainty.
“I felt it was even more important for all the anxieties that we’re going through, to create a space where people can gather,” said Marcie Bilodeau, the organizer of the event. “Whether it be kind of celebrating, or even if the outcome doesn’t, you know, go the way that we’re hoping.”
Hernandez described her emotions developing throughout the course of the evening.
“I was feeling pretty neutral until I looked at who was the prospective winner, and now I’m feeling a lot of anger and sadness,” she said. “I’m a little scared but I haven’t really come to terms with what will happen.”
Others voiced feelings of general burnout. Brian Karanja, the venue’s resident DJ, said he used to follow politics more seriously but grew tired. “Politics has become, like entertainment, like the way wrestling is,” he said.
Despite their mixed feelings, attendees were eager to share the progress they hoped Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Waltz, could have brought.
“I feel safer as a queer person with Kamala as President,” said Maddie Allen, a friend of Hernandez’s.
Many attendees saw Harris as someone who represents diverse and marginalized communities, viewing her as a step toward broader inclusion in national politics.
For Hernandez, whose family members are Mexican immigrants, immigration policies are personal. She explained her disagreement with former President Donald Trump’s approach toward Hispanic immigrants.
“Kamala does hold similar beliefs to me, and she welcomes immigrants into our country, and so that is something that’s really important to me,” Hernandez said.
“A lot of the issues are on women’s rights and that’s a concern in echo chambers that I speak to,” said Jean Nicholas, an attendee who used to work in politics in California, where Harris was the former attorney general.
Bilodeau hosted a watch party for the Trump-Clinton election in 2016, and reflects on the disappointment she felt from the results then, and the inspiration she’s regained now.
“I think part of the inspiration was just the excitement over the prospect of having our first female president and just the policies that Kamala stands for,” Bilodeau said.
Bilodeau compared Harris’ campaign strategies to those of Obama’s, claiming it ran on a “theme of hope,” she said. “Kamala is running on this theme of joy, and again, this sort of uplifting message.”
As Harris-Walz won Illinois’ 19 electorate votes, a rush of excitement spread throughout the room. “Oh, we are going to party,” said Bilodeau, if Harris-Walz would have won overall.
A frustrating aspect of our current political climate is its polarizing nature, attendees noted.
“I mean, this country’s never been a monologue,” Karanja said.
Attendees also admitted they were skeptical of a Harris-Walz victory. Nicholas said it would be a tight race.
Hernandez said: “I’ll probably have another drink [if Harris doesn’t win].”
