LA’s GOP and Long Beach Area Republicans hosted an election night watch party at Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles in Downtown Long Beach on Tuesday.
Only a few minutes away, the Long Beach Young Democrats (LBYD) hosted a similar event inside the historic Hamburger Mary’s.
The electricity in the air could be felt in the audience at Roscoe’s as more states tallied their votes and results were announced.
People got out of their seats and cheered in front of the television broadcasting NBC news’ coverage of the election as more and more electoral votes went to Trump.
Meanwhile at Hamburger Mary’s, the energy started out relaxed, but as more and more state races were called, the downshift in people’s attitudes became apparent.
Long Beach Young Democrats’ Executive Vice President Aliah Reza Khan expressed her disappointment at the foreseen outcome, but said she was unsurprised by the close call races in battleground states.
“Even for me, filling in that bubble was a little difficult,” Khan said.
Khan added that she felt the close call races were due to the Harris campaign’s lack of outreach for Muslim voters and people concerned with the conflict in Gaza.
“Harris ignored muslim voters and ignored Gaza, which I think is going to contribute to the close calls,” Khan said. “It’s hard when (Harris is) telling me to go f-ck myself.”
Many of those at the Roscoe’s watch party were there to network with other republicans in the area, including the mayor of Rancho Palos Verde, John Cruikshank.
Cruikshank ran for the 2024 LA County Board of Supervisors in early 2024, but lost to the incumbent candidate for his district, Janice Hahn.
“I have to stay relevant,” Cruikshank said.
Cruikshank plans to run again in 2028 when Hahn’s seat goes up for reelection.
As the night went on and more and more results were announced, it became more likely that the Republican party would take the majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
More and more people trickled into Hamburger Mary’s as the evening went on, but the energy remained melancholy, with people staying in their seats and nursing their drinks despite the upbeat music in the bar.
President of LBYD, Dorian Bonner, wanted to make it clear that even if the national elections did not look good for the Democratic Party, there were still local elections and measures to remain hopeful for.
“The work doesn’t stop tomorrow,” Bonner said.