Arlington residents explain why they cast their votes
Reproductive rights, personal values and the economy were at the forefront of many Arlington voters' minds as presidential election results came in last night.
A few short miles away from the White House, many voters in Courthouse, Ballston and Shirlington pulled from personal experiences as they discussed how a change in the nation's leadership might affect their lives.
However, even in a county where Vice President Kamala Harris won by an overwhelming majority — capturing 78% of the vote — there was no consensus on several key issues as ARLnow spoke to 11 Harris voters, four Trump voters and three non-voters across the county last night.
What Harris voters said
For Jason, a 42-year-old health care worker, reproductive rights were one of the main reasons he cast his vote for Harris.
"I do ultrasounds, so we see miscarriages, complications with pregnancies almost every day. I know people are dying because they can't get the care that they need," he said. "That's something that I experienced."
Bailey, a 30-year-old fundraising worker, alluded to the overturning of Roe v. Wade as something that brought her to the polls.
"The women's right to choose has come under threat in recent years. That's something that has directly impacted people I know, and so I hate that that's high on my interest list of things that matter to me," she said.
Some Harris voters mentioned fears that a second Trump presidency could stir feelings of division and disadvantage marginalized communities through policies detailed in Project 2025. A 33-year-old software developer, who identified herself as Catholic, expressed fears over Republican leadership that she thinks does not value the separation of church and state.
Many voters spoke on issues of identity, like LGBTQ+ rights — specifically transgender rights, which have seen rollbacks at the state level across the country in recent years.
"What I'm seeing now with trans people is, it feels like it's the last thing that people are allowed to be so openly and so horrifically bigoted about," said Riya, a 25-year-old data engineer.
A couple Harris voters criticized Trump's approaches to climate and immigration.
Isabel, a 25-year-old graduate student whose family moved to the United States from Cuba, talked about the negative effects Trump's anti-immigrant rhetoric had on her while she was in high school. She said the nation's culture at the time — fueled by Trump's messaging — subjected her to racist remarks from peers and teachers.
"Unfortunately, a lot of the people that have this stance ... They've never been in these situations firsthand," she said. "They've never seen someone have to use these government-funded institutions. They've never interacted with someone who's escaped from a communist situation ... They don't know the stories of the people that are coming over the border."
Tom, a 52-year-old journalist, called Harris the more "rational" choice, and said he felt more optimistic about her in terms of his gay and Latino identities.
Democrats did not have much to say about the economy last night, although Cassandra, a 42-year-old lobbyist and self-described "mixed candidate person," said a Trump presidency would have negative implications on the national debt that were worse than Harris' plans.
She specifically voiced disapproval for Trump's tariff and tax proposals.
"I'm used to being an outlier in Arlington, having traditionally fallen more into the previous form of the Republican Party," the former Arlington Young Republicans member said.
What Trump voters said
Four Trump voters listed the economy, Christianity and traditional values as key factors in their vote.
Mike, a 25-year-old consultant, said his Catholic faith and anti-abortion views led him to vote for Trump, along with a dislike for the current role of gender and race in politics.
"I think there's a lot of nonsense, I guess, that I was seeing coming out of the left, and I was kind of fed up and didn't want to keep going that way," he said.
Foreign politics also played a role in Trump supporters' votes. Anastasiya, a 33-year-old senior tax manager from Belarus, has family overseas affected by the Russia-Ukraine war, and thought Trump was better suited to end the conflict than Harris.
She also mentioned wanting to follow the teachings of the Bible and voiced support for Trump's Tax Cuts and Jobs Act — something she thinks benefitted many during his first presidency.
Jerry, a 52-year-old business development executive, took issue with the government's involvement in his children's lives, as well as security at the U.S.-Mexico Border.
"My wife is Hispanic — so it's not anti-Hispanic — but I think we need to control the border," he said.
Non-voters in Arlington
ARLnow also spoke to some non-voters, like Henok, a 33-year-old government employee en route to Bronson Bierhall. He expressed frustration with the country's two-party system, and said that "politicians, at the end of the day, never do what they say they want to do."
He expressed disillusionment at the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, as well as student loan debt.
"I don't want to contribute to the problem," he said.
Married couple Johnny, 29, and Kylie, 25, believed their presidential votes wouldn't have mattered in the state of Virginia.
The pair generally described themselves as holding moderate and Republican beliefs. Unsatisfied by either candidate, Kylie mentioned holding pro-choice beliefs but feeling isolated by two-party extremes, while Johnny cared about being able to afford the cost of living.
End of the night
As Tuesday came to a close, anxiety could be felt among voters at Busboys and Poets in Shirlington — mixed with occasional cheers, as MSNBC's Steve Kornacki called Harris wins in Oregon and Virginia, around 11 p.m.
It was unclear at the time how the night would end, with a Trump win not declared until the early morning hours today.
