Daylight was breaking, and the doors to the R. Max Abbott Middle School polling site were about to open for those of us anticipating this Election Day, and what would be the fate of candidates.
Political surrogates already were gathering for that final push of persuasion for their candidates, be it for county commissioner, the board of education, the state senate, the state house, the gubernatorial race between Democrat Josh Stein and Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, and surely the heated battle for Vice President Kamala Harris to become the first woman to win the U.S. presidency against former President Donald J. Trump.
“We’re ready,” longtime precinct volunteer Brenda Martin said just before 6:30 a.m.
And it wouldn’t be long before Election Day was underway at this county’s 77 precincts.
“The polls are now open,” a precinct volunteer told those already waiting in line on this foggy Tuesday morning. “They will be open until 7:30 p.m.”
Brenina Thompson, 49, was at the front of the line.
“I just wanted to make sure to vote early today,” she said.
Her son, Gus Decka, 18, was with his mother in what would be his first time voting.
Dorothy Davis was there, too, with husband George Krolick. Davis arrived to cast her ballot before heading to Raleigh for a medical appointment. Krolick was on his way to work at Fort Liberty.
Billy Cain was there with his wife, Angie, and their daughter.
‘Did I do all I could do?’
There’s always excitement about what Election Day’s end will bring, when the polls close at 7:30 p.m., and the precinct representatives send their ballots to the Cumberland County Board of Elections for all of us to know.
Excitement, yes, for sure.
And plenty of political angst, too.
“Both candidates are exhausted after non-stop campaigning for months with multiple state events daily the last several weeks,” local politico George Breece said in the early hours of Tuesday about the presidential bid for the White House between the 60-year-old vice president and the 78-year-old Trump.
Harris closed out her campaign just before midnight Monday in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, “where the foundation of our democracy was formed” with television icon Oprah Winfrey by her side in the crucial swing state. Trump attended a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, another pivotal swing state in his bid to “Make America Great Again.”
“Today, they must be saying to themselves, ‘Did I do all I could do?’” Breece said. “‘Did I leave anything on the table? Did I end on a positive note?’ You can only imagine the adrenaline rush both Harris and Trump are feeling as this Election Day moment arrives.”
Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson might wonder about that comment he said along the campaign trail, according to published reports, that “abortion in this country is not about protecting the lives of mothers” but “about killing the child because you weren’t responsible enough to keep your skirt down.”
That didn’t go over well with women who believe in a woman’s reproductive rights. Attorney General Josh Stein, you can be assured, will be taking up residence at the Executive Mansion, and Tuesday’s results told us so.
One candidate who likely will not have to wonder if he did enough is Pavan Patel, the 33-year-old Republican hoping for one of three seats up for grabs in the Cumberland Board of County Commissioners race.
Patel raised over $80,000 in campaign contributions through June 30, according to a CityView published report, which was twice more than both former Democratic N.C. Sen. Kirk deViere and Republican candidate Henry Tyson. And there’s no telling how many Patel campaign signs are along roadways and intersections throughout the county.
Incumbent Donna Vann will wonder if she can hold off former Hope Mills mayor Jackie Warner in their District 4 race for the Cumberland County Board of Education seat.
Keeping track throughout the night
Tuesday was Election Day, where pretenders were separated from contenders. Where we kept up with unofficial voting returns on our iPhones, our laptops and watching the television newscasts, while others, including local candidates and supporters, were expected to gather at the Crown Complex Ballroom to keep track of the precinct reports, and to see and be seen.
There was disappointment at the ballroom, where few showed up.
We’ll know for the most part, sans candidates calling for recounts, and unofficial results of state and local competitions by Election Day’s end. But we don’t quite know about this presidential race for 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. in the nation’s capital.
Nina Morton, chairperson for the Cumberland County Republican Party, was optimistic on Election Day.
“So far, so good!” she said just after midday Tuesday.
You can be assured folks at Cumberland County Democratic Party Headquarters on Raeford Road were keeping their fingers crossed, too.
All depends on a landslide one way or the other, or on those battleground states including Pennsylvania, Michigan and North Carolina in the presidential race, and where national polls say it’s too close to call.
Epilogue
George Breece gives thought to 1992 when the former state legislator was a state delegate for Bill Clinton in the presidential race.
“I am reminded that running and winning an election is the easy part but governing and all that comes with that is really where the rubber meets the road in politics,” Breece says. “Whoever wins the presidency, let’s wish them God’s speed and pray for their safety and success leading the greatest nation on earth.”
Bill Kirby Jr. can be reached at billkirby49@gmail.com or 910-624-1961.
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