By Hattie Robb
President Donald Trump (Facebook)
After an extensive campaign, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has been declared the projected winner of the 2020 election. Before Biden’s win was announced, Lubbock politicians discussed their views regarding the presidential race.
According to the Lubbock County Elections Office, there are 183,976 registered voters in the county and 120,882 ballots were cast in this year’s election.
Their website indicated that President Donald Trump won Lubbock County by 38,803 votes.
Although Lubbock is a predominantly red city earning the Republican vote, Lubbock Democratic Party Chair Gracie Gomez said she is hopeful to turn the tide in Lubbock voters.
“We still have a ways to go, especially in this area that is so red,” Gomez said, “but we are making strides. This election in particular generated a lot of interest, and a lot of democrats are standing up and saying, ‘We have a voice to be heard in West Texas.’”
Gomez said although the change did not prevail this election, she believes they will reap results in the midterm election in two years.
Meanwhile, Lubbock County Commissioner Jason Corley said he believes the region will remain red.
“Lubbock County is probably one of the reddest counties in the entire country,” Corley said. “Texas is also still part of the Bible Belt, and religious tradition runs very deep here. A lot of people who were registered as Democrats were not willing to shift their personal beliefs in order to align with their party’s beliefs, so they move toward the Republican party.”
Corley said several Lubbock citizens vocalized their support for Trump through parades and rallies during campaign season.
Lubbock had three staged Trump rallies with more than 10,000 participants, he said. This election had one of Lubbock’s biggest political turnouts Corley said he has seen.
Lubbock attorney and Texas House District 84 Democratic candidate John Gibson said the generational shift in voters has created polarization, which led to disunion during the presidential race.
“We have the boomers on one hand and young people on the other,” Gibson said, “and I think that as our country is going through these changes, the boomer population has had difficulty making that transition. That has led to a lot of division, and my hope is it goes away after this election.”
Although Trump won Texas, Biden won the electoral college with 290 confirmed votes at the time of publication.
Gomez said the Democratic Party was hopeful for Biden’s victory and excited for the possible change in power.
“Democrats are fired up,” Gomez said. “Our vote is the only weapon we have. Every vote makes a
difference and there is power in it if we exercise it.”
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