The Marquette College Republicans hosted an election night viewing party at the Ambassador Hotel that consisted of about 30 students.
Joe Diamond, a freshman in the College of Arts & Sciences, said he thinks the unique way Trump ran his campaign was appealing to voters who might have been frustrated with more conservative Republican candidates.
“He didn’t have much of a ground game, he generated headlines for himself,” Diamond said. “He said things that people were thinking, but previous candidates like Mitt Romney or John McCain were afraid to say because they thought it would lose them the election.”
Mark Gabriel, a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences, said he was hoping for a Trump victory.
“I’d feel pretty safe about the future of America going forward,” Gabriel said. “He was my vote for today and I feel comfortable with it.”
Gabriel said he was confident Trump could adapt to the job.
“I like his tax and immigration plans,” Gabriel said. “I think one thing that Trump lacks a little is some of his foreign policy, but once he’s in office, he’ll have a lot of political advisers that can help him.”
Mark Seeberg, a sophomore in the College of Business Administration, said he was encouraged by early Trump victories in states like South Carolina. However, he said he was keeping an eye on swing states.
Elizabeth Michels, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, shared her thoughts on Trump’s campaign.
“He’s definitely was not my first choice for the nominee. I’m not in love with him as the nominee of the Republican party. However, I stay loyal to the Repub party. It’s tough to get behind him in a campaign after some of the things that have come to life during his campaign. I still think he’s a better choice than Clinton for president,” she said.
Seeberg said after experiencing previous elections, he didn’t want to put too much stock in the early Trump victories.
“I feel like every election always looks good for the Republicans early on, just because you’re dealing with the East Coast instead of the West Coast,” Seeberg said. “When you look at California, how many electoral votes they have is crazy.”
The crowd got excited when it was announced Trump won the swing state of Ohio, with a Trump chant breaking out.
William Toepfer, a freshman in the College of Engineering, said while it was an encouraging victory because of Ohio’s 18 electoral votes, Toepfer anticipated the outcome.
“Hillary doesn’t really need Ohio,” Toepfer said. “She really needs Pennsylvania and North Carolina at this point. That’s gonna make a difference.”
Trump won both Pennsylvania and North Carolina, important states in helping lead him to victory.
The crowd got even more excited when Trump won Florida, which was too close to call for almost two hours. Patrick Lake, a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences, said the victory was very encouraging.
“Going into the election, it’s easy to feel discouraged,” Lake said. “However, it’s really nice to see that more people feel the same way as you do. It’s good to see that America is coming back to the way it should be.”
Roosevelt Society president J.R. O’Rourke, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences, said he’s still skeptical about some of the results, particularly Florida.
“I’m waiting until it’s 100 percent reported to actually call it. I’m happy right now and I’m knocking on wood and making sure the results come back in favor of us,” he said.