NEW YORK, NEW YORK — It’s a balmy night in Manhattan, particularly for November, and hundreds of people have gathered just outside the Javits Center, where Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is holding her election night party. They won’t get to go inside, but they’ve come to be part of the event anyway.
Why are they there? Nearly every single person asked by ThinkProgress pointed to the historic nature of a possible Clinton victory. But each had their own unique stories and reasons to come out.
Ramon
Ramon, who didn’t want to give his last name, couldn’t even vote on Tuesday. That’s because he’s a resident of the United States but not yet a citizen. But his whole family, most of whom are already citizens, supports Clinton. “We love Hillary,” he said. “This is history.”
Trump, on the other hand, “is like a Latin dictator, like Chavez.” Ramon would know: he moved to the U.S. from Venezuela two years ago.
He said that while people were initially skeptical that Trump would actually run, he wasn’t: “I said, It happened in Venezuela.”
He’s worried about the language Trump used to talk about immigrants and the fervor that stirred up. He was recently walking past Trump Tower in Manhattan and there was a group of supporters telling foreigners to leave the country. But, he pointed out, “American is also an immigrant country.”
“I’m not here [costing] anybody’s jobs,” he said. “I’m a professional… here to bring something to America.”
The outcome of the election, he said, goes beyond U.S. borders. “We’re the biggest democracy in the world, it’s important to stay democratic,” he said. “What happens tonight will change the whole world, not just America.”
Pat and Caitlin Keegan
The mother-daughter duo — Pat is Caitlin’s mother — was happy to be there together, representing their family full of Clinton fans.
Pat, who is 67, been a supporter of Clinton for a long time, ever since she “was a young wife in Arkansas,” she said.
And she’s been waiting for this moment for a very long time. “I never thought I’d see the day I could vote for a female president… Not in my lifetime,” she said. “It was very emotional to vote today for Hillary.”
Pat came to Manhattan from Shelton, Connecticut, which she said is a Republican-heavy community. So as she walked into her polling place on Tuesday morning, she wanted to shout, “I’m here for Hillary!” she said. “To fill in the dot was amazing.”
Samira Pingali
Pingali became an American citizen just a year and a half ago, so her vote for Clinton Tuesday was the first time she was able to vote at all. “It’s even more special,” she said.
She moved to the U.S. from India five years ago and is now attending graduate school studying public health. It’s Clinton’s focus on children’s health, particularly her work to pass the Children’s Health Insurance Program, that garnered Pingali’s support.
She also was worried by the rhetoric around immigration in the election. Even when she was voting Tuesday morning she said people were warning anyone who was “Muslim looking” to be careful outside the polling place. “That really speaks to what [Trump] has done to the mentality of people,” she said. “It scares me.”
Jinji Nicole and Donna Hergus
Nicole and Hergus came to the event at Javits decked out in Clinton stickers and buttons and even toting signs that they decorated themselves. And they have spent the last year and a half volunteering and even traveling to debates to support Clinton, the woman they’ve supported since she was First Lady of the United States.
“I love her for her strength, her knowledge, her fortitude,” Nicole said. They came to the event “to absorb energy and give some ourselves,” Hergus added.
Trump, on the other hand, is the kind of person where “if you don’t play his game he’ll take his toys and go home,” Nicole said. “He’s a racist. I don’t like using that word, [but] they’re racist views.”
Both women think Clinton faces an uphill battle even if she wins. But, Nicole said, “she’s up to the task if any woman is. She’s the one.”
Ingrid and Connie Thorp
The Thorps were fans of Clinton long before she first ran for president in 2008 — Ingrid said she’s a “lifetime Clinton family supporter.” Voting for her today “was emotional,” she added.
Ingrid was crushed by Clinton’s loss in the 2008 primary to President Barack Obama, even if she’s supported his presidency and said that having a person of color as president was very important to her. Clinton’s loss was “devastating,” she said. “It was like going to a job interview and it was given to somebody with less experience… even if you’re friends.”
So she’s even happier this time around. “It’s historic,” Ingrid said. “This changes everything. Really breaking that last glass ceiling.” Tears filled her voice as she imagined how she’ll feel if Clinton wins. “Raw emotion,” she said. “It’s that holding your breath, waiting for that dream to become reality.”
Peter and Charlie
The father and son (Peter is the father and Charlie is the son) are both immigrants. Peter came to the United States at age two from Canada; Charlie came to the country from England when he was two months old. “We’re all a family of immigrants…. We’re foreigners,” he said. He called Trump’s language about immigration “frightening.”
The two men are also excited by the possibility of the first female president. “I think women make better leaders,” Peter said. “It’s about time.”
Charlie isn’t yet old enough to vote, but he still did what he could to try to get Clinton elected, attending rallies and even trying to persuade the seniors at his high school who could vote to go for Clinton. Most of them were supporters; some, he said, are “Bernie or bust.”
Bryn Silverman
“It’s an important day for women,” Silverman said. She was a supporter of Democratic primary rival Bernie Sanders and is not necessarily a diehard Clinton fan. But she thinks Clinton is qualified and that the significance is important.
“I’m excited she’s a woman… It’s an important symbol to send to the world.” She added, “This is the place… It’s history.”
Silverman has lived for some time in Berlin, although recently came back to the United States for work. And she said that if Trump wins, “I’ll probably stay in Berlin forever.”
Lauren McDowdell, Emma Balter, Shannon Henry, Hilary Sims
McDowdell, who wore a light pink pantsuit in Clinton’s honor, said she came to the event to represent her family and friends back in Texas who support Clinton. “In a way I feel like a surrogate,” she said.
She’s been a fan of Clinton for a very long time. Her grandmother, who is from Arkansas and whose father was a politician, has been following Clinton’s career since she was first lady of the state. Through her grandmother, McDowdell has also followed Clinton’s path and even voted for her in the 2008 primaries. “I have loved Obama,” she said. But, she added, “I’m so excited for tonight, not just because she’s the first woman but because her platform is very progressive.”
Henry wasn’t old enough to vote in 2008, but voted for Obama in 2012. And then she followed Clinton’s career when she was named Secretary of State. “She’s a badass feminist I’m so happy to have as a role model,” she said.
Balter is a U.S. citizen but has only been living in the country for the last four years, having grown up in France. She voted for Obama and then started to learn more about Clinton once she ran this cycle. “To see her win is incredible,” she said. “It represents why I chose to live here.”
“It’s a historic night,” she said. “It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to be here for the first female president.”