Across Massachusetts, Trump fans celebrate while Harris supporters worry and wonder what's next

Although Vice President Kamala Harris quickly grabbed Massachusetts' 11 electoral votes, more than 35% of the reliably blue state's voters cast their ballots for President-elect Donald Trump.

More than 80 of the state's 351 cities and towns backed the Republican former president, with over a third of those communities shifting red since the 2020 election.

In red municipalities across a swath of Worcester County, many residents celebrated Trump's victory Wednesday. Like their fellow supporters around the nation, several said they voted out of a want for a slew of new policies, particularly on the economy, immigration and U.S. involvement in the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. Many said Trump was clearer than Harris about his plans to address those concerns.

In Leicester, about a half-dozen Trump supporters stood at a busy intersection waving flags and holding signs that read "Thank You Patriots" and "America is Back."

“Those four years when [Trump] was president, I don't know about you, but for me and my family things were pretty good,” said John Mcrae, 83, as passing motorists honked in support. He said the economy has been worse under Biden.

Mcrae added that the July 13 assassination attempt solidified his support for the former president. As a veteran, he said Trump showed courage.

“That won me over forever,” Mcrae said. “That's what a country needs in these perilous times is a leader who is genuinely fearless."

"... if he can get us back on track I don't care what he says and what he does."

Diane Payne

In nearby Spencer, a majority of the town’s voters also backed Trump. Resident Diane Payne, who is in her 70s, acknowledged Trump has been mired in controversies and delivered nasty campaign remarks — but said she supports him anyway.

“I'm a senior and I'm retired, and I'm working to pay for food,” said Payne, who works at a jewelry store in town to help pay her bills. “So if he can get us back on track, I don't care what he says and what he does."

Tony Minga, owner of Spencer Pizza, said he couldn’t support Harris because he believes the nation’s economy has suffered under Biden. Minga said he wouldn’t have voted for president at all if Trump hadn’t run. He said he hopes the president-elect will not only address the economy, but also take action against illegal immigration and change U.S. involvement in the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.

“The last years were tough for everyone, a lot of struggling," Minga said. "Everything was going in the wrong direction, and we needed something different."

The economy was also top of mind for 78-year-old Ware resident Walter Lahair. A Vietnam veteran, he also said he's disregarded much of the criticism of Trump and believes it has been distorted to discredit him.

Lahair added Harris was not a strong candidate as she's part of the Biden administration, which has overseen a time when many Americans have paid higher prices for basic items.

“When Trump was president gas was down, companies were coming back and he was trying to stop all these extra people from coming into the country instead of giving them everything that Americans should have,” Lahair said. “He'll take us out of this mess and straighten it all out and make America like it used to be.”

Lahair also believes Democrats have stopped speaking to working-class voters and now focus more on the needs of affluent residents.

Phil Berling, 64, of Douglas, said he was insulted by the way Harris was chosen as the Democratic nominee, with Biden announcing he'd drop out and putting his support behind her right before the Democratic National Convention.

“Don’t dump on working-class people is the message here,” Berling said. “They're claiming, ‘Oh, Trump is a threat to democracy’ as they put in someone that never got a vote to run for president.”

"It's hard in this state to be a conservative and identify yourself as someone who doesn't cling to the same belief system as 60% of the rest of the state."

John Mcrae

And Trump supporters such as Mcrae said Tuesday's election has energized more conservative voters in largely Democratic Massachusetts. He said his group plans to hold a bigger celebration rally in Worcester County this weekend.

“It's hard in this state to be a conservative and identify yourself as someone who doesn't cling to the same belief system as 60% of the rest of the state,” Mcrae said.

It was a different story in Middlesex County. Somerville, a Democratic stronghold known as a haven for artists and the LGBTQ+ community, voted overwhelmingly for Harris. The morning after the election, the mood in Davis Square was subdued.

Carmen Barnes, a 31-year-old Somerville resident, was sitting outside Diesel Cafe. When asked how she felt about the election results, she asked if she could curse.

“I'm just allowing myself to be mad,” Barnes said about Trump’s win. “I screamed a little bit earlier, and I'll scream a little bit later.”

Down the street, Nina Stein, 33, sat on the curb with her bike, waiting for the farmers market to open. She described her reaction to Trump’s win as “bummed and incredulous.”

“I had a similar reaction the first time,” Stein said. “Like, I was serenely confident that people could not possibly be this dumb to elect a palpably and demonstrably incompetent abusive loon.”

"One of the problems with Trump is it makes you feel like you're not allowed to be different and people are allowed to punish you for being different."

Nina Stein

Stein is Jewish and recently completed a Ph.D. in physics, a field with few other women. She calls Trump a “bigot,” and worries about what another Trump presidency could mean for her.

“One of the good things about the States is that you're allowed to be different,” she said. “One of the problems with Trump is it makes you feel like you're not allowed to be different and people are allowed to punish you for being different.”

Jerry Bloom, 71, of Wakefield, was manning the booth for a local composting company at the Davis Square Farmers Market. He said he was “disappointed” with the presidential election results.

“I’m kind of surprised [at] the outcome with the female vote and also the Hispanic vote,” Bloom said, referring to Trump’s gains with those voting blocs. “I also feel like I was really ready for a change from the Trump rhetoric. I didn’t want to see that continue.”

Bloom added he hasn't been entirely thrilled with Biden.

“I think that the border needed to have some brakes put on sooner as opposed to later,” he said.

But the economy, a top concern for Trump voters, had not been a worry for him. Under Biden, he said he “actually felt like the economy had made some significant improvements.”

"I think everybody's trying to take stock and figure out what the next steps are."

Andrew Zamore

Somerville resident Andrew Zamore was shopping at the farmers market with his wife. He was still processing the news.

“We're just shell-shocked and disappointed and frustrated and angry,” Zamore, 66, said. “It seems like well over half the country is attracted to the cruelty and dysfunction and chaos and tumult that we know is coming.”

The morning after the election, the couple was reeling from a nasty voicemail they had received from an unknown number gloating about Trump’s win.

“I'm worried about the permission, now, to carry out on the kind of unbridled cruelty that we've seen peeks of so far, and that have been contained by some of the better voices and institutions that were in place,” Zamore said. “I think those institutions are going to be dismantled, and I think the voices that spoke against them are going to be afraid to.”

He wasn’t sure what comes next for people who oppose Trump.

“I think everybody's trying to take stock and figure out what the next steps are,” Zamore said. “It’s not like we're getting a lot of guidance from the people we've elected, who might provide some leadership there, yet.”