Biden Wins U.S. Presidency, Senator Harris Becomes First Female VP Elect
Photo Courtesy of Sower Staff
By Elisha Meyer
Concordia University, Nebraska students finally saw an end to the 2020 presidential election Saturday after the Associated Press and multiple other media outlets called the victory of former Vice President Joe Biden and his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif.
Joe Biden said in response to his win that he will use the victory to better America as the world looks to the United States for example.
“Tonight, the whole world is watching America, and I believe that at our best, America is a beacon for the globe,” Biden said. “We will lead not only by the example of our power, but by the power of our example.”
The novel coronavirus pandemic brought changes to the election cycle and Election Day, which would eventually become election week. Early and mail-in ballots, mask mandates, and social distancing were all utilized to help control the spread of the virus.
Biden was declared the winner after Pennsylvania was called in favor of the former vice president. The win, which came with 20 Electoral College votes, pushed him over the mark of 270 needed to win the U.S. presidency. The AP and Fox News have also called Arizona in favor of Biden, but the call has not been made by other major media outlets.
“No surprises there,” said senior Sarah Ragland. “I’m just glad they finally called it.”
A historic number of voters cast their ballots in the 2020 presidential election. Current vote counts by the AP show President Donald Trump with 70,804,968 votes. While that number beat his 2016 tally, it stands short of Biden’s vote count of 75,193,022.
One student who voted for Biden was excited about the election of Harris as vice president. She will become the first woman to occupy the office of the vice president and the student, who chose to remain anonymous, said that while it was cool to see Biden elected, it was even more exciting to see Harris make history.
Some students expressed frustration about media coverage throughout the election process.
Junior Brody Schofeld said the narrative about a supposed “blue wave” did not prevent what was a big year for Republicans.
“The blue wave propagated by the biased media did not come to fruition,” Schofeld said. “Instead, we saw a tight presidential race in many states that pollsters harshly misjudged.”
Some students, regardless of party affiliation, were simply happy to see an end to the election. Junior Nathan Leonard said that the end of the race was ultimately better for social life on campus.
“The real winners were the friends we didn’t grow to hate along the way,” Leonard said.
Sophomore Angelina Stinson said that the important thing for every citizen now is to treat his or her neighbor as a fellow American.
“No matter Democrat or Republican, the only thing that needs to come out of this election is change,” Stinson said. “What needs to come out of this election is peace and respect for those around us treating them as our loving neighbors.”
