Minnesota Democratic and Republican supporters at their respective watch parties are mostly hopeful, with some concern about the potential election results. 

Some supporters have switched party support in the past, but now hail from all over to support their candidate.

Terry Kilmartin, a Democratic supporter at the DFL watch party in St. Paul, said he has been to four DFL election night parties.

“It’s my tribe. I’d like to be with them on such critical nights,” Kilmartin said. “I haven’t been a lifetime Democrat. I must confess. When I was younger, I was stupid.” 

Kilmartin said he was a Republican until 2004. 

“If Trump gets reelected, it’s such a disaster,” Kilmartin said. “Not only for this country, for the rest of the world. It’s going to set back our climate goals, it’s going to set back NATO. It’s going to doom Ukraine. You know, it’s going to embolden China to attack Taiwan.” 

Kilmartin said he disagrees with people who vote third-party because their vote will not make a difference.

“I want to talk to my Muslim and Arab friends in the state and the country,” Kilmartin said. “If they think Donald Trump’s presidency is going to be better for their cause than Kamala Harris, I mean, they’ve got another thing coming. I can understand that they’re upset, that, you know, their brethren are being killed by tax dollars that they’re paying. But they should understand that strategically, it’s just not in their interest to see Donald Trump get elected.” 

Kilmartin said third-party votes are a major concern for him, especially in Michigan with the highest percentage of Arab American at roughly 2%, according to World Population Review. 

Kayla Wright, a Republican supporter at the Minnesota GOP watch party in Bloomington, said she was raised liberal but became right-leaning during the COVID-19 pandemic. She wore an ex-democrat shirt to the party and considers herself a libertarian.

“I stomped for women’s rights and for great public education and great healthcare,” Wright said. “And right before the shutdowns, I started doing my research. And I found out that mostly it was a bunch of hooey.”

Wright said the Democratic Party is hypocritical and more divisive and diverse than Republicans.

“We should all be working on what we agree on and expanding on what we agree on, not what we disagree on,” Wright said. “Because that’s where the growth is, that’s where both the consciousness and the energy and expansion of everybody’s better good. What do we agree on? Let’s make it bigger and better.”

Wright said she cannot support Democratic or Libertarian candidates anymore. 

“It has left me, it has left my family, it has left my country in a worse state than it was before,” Wright said. “I did not vote for Trump the last time. I voted for him today, proudly.”

Colleen Brady and Steve Gaetz, Democratic supporters at the DFl watch party in St. Paul, said they attended the 2008 and 2016 DFL watch parties and are both feeling nervous about the results of the 2024 election. 

“I know that polls aren’t necessarily completely accurate,” Brady said. “I think that we’re surprised at how close they are with the vitriol from one side of the aisle and not the Democrats. With how close they are, I was fooled once in 2016 and so I don’t want to be fooled again.” 

Brady said she was not enthusiastic about voting for Harris because of her stance on the war in Gaza, but the Vice President still has her support. 

“What else is there? I think the complete destruction of the West Bank in Gaza as we know, I think that’s what he (Trump) would do,” Brady said. “When he says, ‘The war would be over,’ it’s not because he would bring peace to the region. He would bring destruction.” 

Gaetz said he is worried Republicans are preparing people to believe the 2024 election results are fraudulent. 

Despite their concerns, Brady and Gaetz said they are hopeful.  

“We try and instill that in our kids,” Brady said. “If you have no hope then who’s going to fight?”

JoAnn Hell, a Republican supporter at the GOP watch party in Bloomington, said as a senior citizen, she has a different perspective from Harris’ campaign.

“I listened to every word, but I really cannot even voice one of her policies,” Hell said. “So what brought me here tonight is to celebrate and to trust that Trump is going to win.” 

Hell said she believes the results need to be accepted no matter the election results. 

Sarah Abildskov, a student from a Denmark university, said she traveled to support her friends for Ilhan Omar’s campaign. 

“We’re big fans of Ilhan back at home and we came here to get inspired by this really, really important election where there’s a lot of stake,” Abildskov said. “We wanted to kind of see how it was going here and be emotional support for like-minded people across the ocean.” 

Abildskov said she is an organizer for the Danish left-wing group the Red Green Youth. Her and her friends came to Minnesota to learn campaign strategies to use in Denmark. 

“We’ve been following the campaign,” Abildskov said. “So we’ve been tagging along when people have been canvassing. And we went to a few rallies, midnight madnesses and stuff like that, to get inspired by the people here.”  

James Engebretson is a Republican supporter at the GOP watch party in Bloomington.

“The president is our president,” Engebretson said. “I’m not into this, ‘He’s not my president.’ She’s dumber than a box of rocks. I would rather elect a box of rocks.” 

Jen Agan, a Republican supporter at the GOP watch party said she was a Democrat before she married her husband.

“I was a Freedom Rider for Amnesty International, I was a member of Greenpeace, and then I grew up and I married a soldier, and the military functions 100% better under a Republican government,” Agan said. 

Tad Jude, who is running against Kelly Morrison (DFL) for Rep. Dean Phillip’s 3rd district seat, had a table at the party where his supporters could sit. The tablecloth was bright orange, matching his campaign shirts and website. 

“We’re waiting for the verdict of the voters,” Jude said. “You know, work with whatever the voters decide, you know, a good path forward.” 

Jude said he is optimistic about tonight. 

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said at the Democratic watch party in St. Paul that he is  “nauseously optimistic.” 

“I’m hopeful, confident, I’m optimistic for the people in our country because there’s such a stark contrast,” Frey said.  “I mean, this is usually, usually as you lead into a presidential election, I’m concerned about policies.”

Frey said he is concerned about women’s rights, affordable housing and healthcare, and climate change as well as the state of democracy under Trump’s presidency if he won the 2024 election. 

“He’s actively saying that he’s not going to abide by a peaceful transition of power,” Frey said. “That’s terrifying. It’s absurd. It’s anti-American. It’s anti-everything that we as a democracy stand for.”

Presidential Elector Elizer Darris for the DFL and a national DNC delegate said she is hopeful there will be strong Democratic voter turnout in Pennsylvania and Michigan. 

“I’m challenged right now because I’m seeing these numbers and so I can’t be as upbeat as I would want to be,” Darris said. “Pennsylvania’s particularly what I really want to see come in. It’s making me nervous.”

Darris said this election is historic because Harris is the first Black South Asian woman to run for the presidential office. 

Correction: A previous version of this article misquoted Colleen Brady.