Tuesday’s election has polarized many people. As Ohio Public Radio’s Jo Ingles reports, the chairmen of the Ohio Republican and Democratic parties have differing views on whether the polarization is a good thing.
Thousands of people throughout the country have taken to the streets, protesting the election of Republican Donald Trump as president. Democratic Party Chairman David Pepper says he understands the division.
“I’m really worried where we are.”
Pepper explains some voters who are gay, minorities, undocumented immigrants, women or others who feel insulted by Trump or threatened by him are troubled that their friends and neighbors chose to support Trump with their votes.
“The people who he was attacking the whole year and a half thought, ‘My gosh, this guy is running for president by saying we are 'other people' and we need to be treated differently.' And so now we have millions of people in this country after Tuesday thinking, 'It wasn’t just polls, it wasn’t just the candidate, now the country has just verified.'”
But Matt Borges, chairman of the Ohio Republican Party, says Trump spoke for many people who haven't had a voice.
“I think there are a lot of voters out there who didn’t think Donald Trump’s message was negative at all. I think what they thought was, 'Somebody actually hears me. Somebody is giving me a voice for the first time in a long time.'"
"The establishment -- a term he uses -- the politicians, a term he used: He was using these terms on purpose. They feel like those people have held them back and don’t listen to them. And why is it a bad thing that they now feel like they have a voice?”
Trump beat Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton by 9 points in Ohio.
