Newark Reacts To Election Results: 'A Hopeful Day For America'

NEWARK, NJ — “The national nightmare is over.” “It’s a hopeful day for America.” “We’ve ripped the bandage off the wound of inequality.” These were some of the sentiments heard in Newark over the weekend as reports called the 2020 presidential election in favor of Joe Biden and his running mate, Kamala Harris.

Although President Donald Trump has disputed the unofficial results, the Associated Press and other news outlets have projected Biden as the winner of a historic election, which took place mostly via mail amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The early results have spurred a wave of relief for many residents of New Jersey’s largest city, which has had a sour relationship with President Trump.

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Over the weekend, several Newark officials, community leaders and people with deep Brick City ties sounded the horn about Biden’s unofficial victory.

“The past four years have ripped the bandage off the wound of inequality in American democracy that has festered for generations,” Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said. “Narrowing the extreme disparities in wealth and income, health care, education and housing needs to be a central priority of our nation.”

Baraka continued:

“As Newarkers, we have faith that a Biden-Harris administration will set our nation on a new path of equity, collaboration, empowerment, education and safety. COVID-19 has taught us that the new normal will be very different from the normal to which we have become accustomed. Creating a new normal grounded in social, racial and economic justice is arguably the greatest challenge we face. The new president and vice president we have elected are leaders who can meet that challenge. For the past four years, while our government in Washington has promoted the rhetoric of hate and white supremacy while serving only those of extreme wealth, many of our cities have been a laboratory in innovation and democracy with police reforms, equitable development, environmental justice and much more. We are proof that change starts at the local level in our neighborhoods, community organizations, religious institutions and small businesses. We will now have a president and vice president with the wisdom and will to further implement what we have shown to be possible with Newark strong and leading.”

Other federal legislators with Newark ties offered a shout-out to Biden and Harris last weekend.

“Congratulations to our future president and vice president,” tweeted Sen. Bob Menendez, who has an office in Newark.

“The national nightmare is over … let's move this country in a new direction,” wrote Rep. Donald Payne Jr., who represents the 10th District.

“This is a hopeful day for America, and for those who have fought for this victory for the last four years,” Rep. Albio Sires of the 8th District said. “Decency, honesty, and integrity matter. Thankfully our next president embraces those qualities.”

"Donald Trump lost," wrote Sen. Cory Booker, a Newark resident. "His claim of widespread voter fraud is baseless. There is zero evidence."

"We must all, regardless of party or candidate preference, reject Trump’s efforts to undermine the bedrock principles that have made us the oldest continuous democracy on Earth," Booker added.

KAMALA HARRIS: BREAKING BARRIERS

New Jersey Lieutenant Gov. Sheila Oliver, who was raised in Newark, pointed out that Harris has given inspiration to generations of Black and Asian women.

“My heart is full thinking about the impact that this will have on women and girls of all ages and walks of life,” Oliver wrote.

“Women – be yourselves and don’t give up,” Oliver continued. “This decision has proved beyond a measure of doubt that we have a rightful place in history. And we, too, can be vice president and president of the United States of America.”

Oliver concluded:

“While we will certainly need some time to heal from the division and stress this election has put on our nation, I am confident that our democracy is stronger today than it was yesterday. I am optimistic that we will continue on the path toward a more perfect union. With this strong display of democracy, we have done right by our country and the world. I am so proud to be an American.”

The Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP), a unit of the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University, also offered congratulations to Harris for breaking racial barriers.

“This is an enormously significant moment in the story of women's participation in American politics and in the history of our country,” CAWP Director Debbie Walsh said. “That it happens during the centennial of the 19th Amendment, which expanded some women's political participation while women like Kamala Harris remained excluded, is all the more symbolic.”

According to Walsh, Harris has become the “face of the future” of the Democratic Party.

“Her win puts to rest the question of the electability of women to high office - a question that haunted both the women and people of color who ran for the Democratic nomination this cycle,” Walsh said. “To women and girls of all walks of life, of every political persuasion, Harris's ascension to the vice presidency broadens the horizons of the possible.”

SEEN ON SOCIAL

Other Newark groups and residents have been churning out a steady stream of congratulations for Biden/Harris – and jeers for the departing Trump administration – via social media.

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