On an unseasonably warm November day, four friends sat on a bench in Portland’s Old Port sipping coffees.

“It feels a lot like we’re back in 2016. We were all together then too,” said Peyton Morrisette, 29, gesturing to her friends.

“Except in 2016 I could tell myself that there was some level of ignorance. But now, the evil, you just can’t escape that,” Lucy Comaskey, 30, chimed in.

In Portland, 80% of voters supported Vice President Kamala Harris in Tuesday’s presidential election, a stark difference from the national picture, where former President Donald Trump won a decisive victory.

As the group of young voters gathered Wednesday, they talked about what would come next.

Robyn Estes and Kit Buda, both 29, have been engaged for two years, but as the election drew closer they began to talk with more urgency about getting married.

“We’re afraid of losing our rights,” said Buda.

Estes and Buda are a queer couple. They worry about what Trump and Project 2025, a policy agenda crafted by conservatives, will mean for their lives. The agenda lays out a plan to do away with same-sex marriage in order to “restore the American family.”

“I never want to be in a situation where Robyn is in the hospital and I can’t be there because we aren’t allowed to get married,” said Buda.

Now they are planning for a City Hall wedding as soon as possible.

Buda said they had wanted to wait until they had top surgery to get married; they had hoped to feel like themselves when they finally tied the knot. But Buda said they have been on a waitlist for seven months and it’s unclear when surgery will be possible. Now that Trump has won the election, they don’t want to wait anymore.

Morrissette said she was having trouble comprehending how so many people could have supported Trump.

“I don’t understand. I could get it if more people were voting selfishly, but so many people are just shooting themselves in the foot,” she said.

None of the friends felt hopeful. But Comaskey said she knew the feeling wouldn’t last forever.

“I think the hope will come,” she said. “I have hope in us.”

A few blocks away Nina Battice, 42, sat on a bench smoking a cigarette.

“I’m despondent,” she said.

Battice said she’d been convinced that Harris would win the election. She lives in California and had been on an East Coast and Canadian road trip for two weeks. She sent her ballot in early and had been feeling excited about election night.

“I was all but certain,” she said. “I thought we were going to win. The amount of loss in the swing states was just devastating.”

She said she’s scared that the Affordable Care Act, often called Obamacare, will be repealed.

“I feel so much trepidation. My daughter is 23 and she’s on my insurance. I’m worried about her if Obamacare isn’t in effect,” said Battice.

COMMON GOALS

Just before noon, two friends with markedly different political views met to plant daffodil bulbs in Libbytown.

Barbara Lanfer, 73, voted for Trump. Her friend Carlene Hill Byron, 67, voted for Harris. The two women are both a part of the Rise Church and had already planned to plant the daffodils in nearby Thomas Park on Wednesday because the forecast called for nice weather. They hadn’t thought much about the day falling just after the election.

“It’s been heartbreaking to me to watch relationships and communities shattered over differences that are often just differences about how we get to something that is a common goal,” said Byron.

She said they both cared about their communities and wanted everyone to have opportunities to succeed and feel safe.

“We can both work together for these goals,” said Lanfer. “I’d like to see the country be able to do that better.”

At Lincoln Park, Aime Shongo, 37, sat listening to music on a bench. He is Congolese and a permanent resident of the United States, but he doesn’t have citizenship yet so wasn’t able to vote in Tuesday’s election.

He said he was happy Trump had won because he likes his economic policies, and believes Trump will create more jobs and lower taxes.

“I think Trump can actually bring peace,” he said.

‘I JUST WANTED AMERICA TO DO BETTER’

Still, most Portlanders who spoke with a reporter on Wednesday said they felt like they were grieving.

Sofia Wales, 5, sat next to her mom eating a cookie and gripping a new stuffed animal.

“She just started public school,” said Lindsay Wales, 33. “She’s going to learn about presidents and this guy is literally a rapist and a sex offender. How do I explain that to her?”

Trump has been accused of sexual assault more than a dozen times but has adamantly denied the allegations. A civil jury found him liable in 2023 for sexually abusing E. Jean Carroll.

Wales said she has relatives and friends who support Trump, which is baffling to her. She said it hurts to see them celebrating on social media when she feels so frightened for the future.

“People wonder why sexual assault victims don’t speak up, it’s because their abusers get elected president,” she said. “As someone who’s had those experiences, everyone around you says it’s terrible, but clearly they don’t care.”

While Wales spoke, her daughter finished her cookie and skipped around. She took her mom’s phone and began snapping silly photos. Wales laughed and then sighed.

“I just wanted America to do better,” she said. “I have a good group of friends who think the same way, but I guess it wasn’t enough.”

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