Residents surprised at extent of Trump victory

Nov. 6—Local reaction to Donald Trump's win over Kamala Harris could be heard in the tones of people's voices.

Muskogee County Republican Party Chairman Vernon Antonioni sounded cheerful.

"Americans had their stomachs full of high prices and inflation," Antonioni said. "But to win by a large amount proved that America needed to change direction."

Antonioni said he expects a complete turn-around over the next four years.

"The stock market this morning jumped 1,300 points," he said. "Everybody's going to benefit from lower gas prices, lower grocery bills. We may not have to keep paying $5 for a gallon of milk. ... I think everybody, whether they're happy or not, is going to benefit from the results."

Muskogee County Democratic Party Chairwoman Donna Woods sighed.

"In Oklahoma, I'm not surprised; in the nation, I feel great disappointment," Woods said. "There's just no words."

She said she does not know what to expect.

"I'm always hopeful for the future," she said.

As for the future of the Democratic party, Woods said "we just have to continue to power on, find candidates we feel are good candidates among the people that we can support."

Muskogee High graduate Micah Stafford, a registered Republican, said he was surprised by the victory — though he said he hadn't hoped for it.

"He (Trump) will have both chambers of Congress on his side for the next two years, so he should have an easy time passing legislation," Stafford said. "I am not concerned about any sort of 'authoritarian' tendencies from him, but I do deeply hope he will find a way to extend an olive branch to Democrats to unify Washington, which will be pivotal considering how the GOP has evolved over the last eight years under his watch."

Trump did make an effort to unify in his victory speech, he said.

"But considering he spent more time talking about golf and the UFC instead of key policy issues, I'm not too optimistic that he will prioritize unity," Stafford said.

Businesswoman and former Muskogee City Council member Traci McGee, a Republican, said she was not surprised by Tuesday's result.

"I kind of knew we would pull it off," McGee said. "I think his team did a wonderful job of doing the groundwork, going to the rural areas, getting people fired up and ready to go. I think things that happened to Trump over time, getting shot and things like that, I think he stayed focused."

She said she was surprised by how so many states on the electoral college map "went red" for Trump.

"He had teams on the ground, that was pushing, pushing pushing," she said. "When he won Georgia, I knew it was over."

Former Mayor Marlon Coleman, pastor of Antioch Temple of Hope, called for unity.

"The general population pretty decisively decided the direction they wanted to go in," Coleman said. "I think now, as a local community, we need to be certain we don't allow national politics to divide us, and we do everything we can to pray the president-elect is successful."

Coleman said his definition of success is "being certain that all Americans are serviced by the Constitution and that he would lead the country in a way that is not divisive, and being certain people feel comfortable and that over the next four years, he would do everything in his power to be certain all Americans have access to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."