From 'a good day to wake up' to 'mourning': How Indy area reacted to Trump's victory
In a repeat of 2016 and 2020, Indiana was among the first states called for Donald Trump in Tuesday night's presidential election. The Republican candidate rode his expected and decisive win in Indiana to an overall victory against Democrat Vice President Kamala Harris, securing crucial swing states like Pennsylvania and Michigan.
By the time most of the Indianapolis area was getting out of bed Wednesday morning, the Associated Press had called the race for Trump. Hoosiers went on with their days — going to work, hitting the grocery store, just taking a walk — a well-shaken cocktail of emotions ranging from joy to disappointment and, in some cases, fear.
Pro-Trump Hoosiers optimistic about economy, southern border
Stan Osweiler, 80, received some "unkind words" from multiple people as he walked through Indy's north side while wearing a Make America Great Again Hat on Wednesday. He purchased the crisp-billed cap Sunday, feeling sure Trump would win.
"I felt strongly that most Americans were looking at the same numbers on the economy, inflation, jobs," said Osweiler, a retired owner of a property management company. "They didn't care about this glassy-eyed 'joy' or 'hope' from Harris, or whatever that was."
Osweiler said he wants Trump to loosen regulatory controls on businesses, pursue energy independence and "get control of the border," though he believes immigrant workers are important and does not necessarily support mass deportation.
The economy was also top-of-mind for Marvin Bush, a 62-year-old tool and die maker from Greenfield, just east of Indianapolis. On a trip to Walmart, Bush sported a bright red T-shirt with the words "Wanted for president 2024" in all-caps around a grayscale image of Trump's infamous 2023 mug shot, taken at Atlanta's Fulton County Jail after the President-elect was indicted on racketeering and related charges. Bush, who said he has worked 30 overtime hours in a week regularly throughout his career, cited Trump's pledge to get rid of taxes on overtime earnings as one reason for his enthusiasm about the election results.
"Over the last 40 years, I've worked just as much overtime as I have straight time," Bush said. "So that's a big deal for us in the auto industry."
'I think it shows how far we have not come'
Trump's voters in Central Indiana spanned from a longtime autoworker in Bush to Kelly Smith, a 40-year-old mother of two from Carmel. Smith, who voted for Trump, said prices have soared and that she hopes inflation will ease up under Republican leadership. Even as southern Hamilton County continues to trend more purple after historically voting Republican, Smith and likeminded voters had reason to celebrate Wednesday morning.
"It was a good day to wake up," she said.
From a purely meteorological standpoint, it undoubtedly was. An unseasonably warm November day cloaked Carmel's Arts and Design District in 65-degree sunlight. The picturesque Monon Trail where Smith took her morning walk was quiet, a stillness pierced only the faint whir of recumbent bicycle wheels and the panting of sheep dogs. But for some of the trail's passersby, serenity was only skin-deep.
"I almost feel like I'm in mourning," Alyssa Patras said.
Patras, a 28-year-old nanny from Noblesville pushing one of her client's babies in a stroller down the Monon, said she voted for Kamala Harris with the mothers in her life in mind — women like her clients and her two pregnant sisters, one of whom is high-risk.
To Patras, watching the United States once again vote to elect Donald Trump, a candidate with what she views as a poor record on women's reproductive rights and a history of sexual abuse allegations, was a concerning sign of how her fellow citizens value women. She also worries about the future of the Department of Education, which Trump recently said he plans to eliminate. Many of the children Patras works with have developmental disabilities and benefit greatly from DOE programs, she said. She doesn't take Trump's words lightly.
"When he says he's gonna do this next thing, I believe he's gonna do it," she said.
Growing Republican power a concern for women, LGBTQ+ individuals
A second Trump presidency is a source of consternation for some young women, minorities and, in the case of Atticus Black, transgender people. Black, a young first-time voter who lives near downtown Indianapolis and recently came out as trans, said he felt upset and defeated by the result of the election. He cited the disproportionately high rates of suicide and mental illness faced by trans youth as a cause for concern, especially in Indiana where doctors are banned from providing gender-affirming care for minors .
While the last four years under President Joe Biden weren't perfect, Black said, he had started to feel more comfortable with his gender identity. He's unsure whether that feeling will last.
"The comfortable we've gotten used to isn't the comfortable we'll be allowed now," he said. "And we had the power to fix that, and you know, this is just how it's going to be and now we have to adapt."
Anger is the prevailing emotion for health care worker and Marion County resident Rosemary Black. Rosemary voted for Harris because she wants women to maintain control of their bodies, including the right to an abortion and access to sound prenatal care. Some Indiana doctors have recently warned that strict abortion bans could lead to women with pregnancy complications being denied health care because doctors are afraid of breaking a law.
"The incoming administration would rather I die than be able to make the decisions with the medical professionals about my own body," Rosemary said.
Abortion rights and bodily autonomy were common refrains for Harris on the campaign trail. Despite abortion bans remaining widely unpopular across states, the issue was not enough to catapult the Vice President to victory, certainly not in barn-red Indiana. While some left-leaning voters try to make sense of how their fellow Americans could elect a president seemingly so at odds with their values, Black sees the issue as fairly cut and dry.
"We tell our daughters all the time that they can do anything, they can be anything," she said. "But the reality of the situation is America votes for men."
Most Marion County voters agreed with Black in voting for Harris. But as soon as the polls closed in Indiana on election night, it was Trump whom the AP called as victor, a reminder of his commanding lead elsewhere in the state.
Contact IndyStar reporter Bradley Hohulin at You can follow him on Twitter/X
