NORTHAMPTON — Some were angry. Others confused. But nearly all of those at the local Hillary Clinton campaign’s watch party were incredulous — Donald Trump was surging ahead.
He could become the next president of the United States.
All eyes were fixed on the big screen TV at Spoleto restaurant just before midnight Tuesday, watching as the results came in. The tally: 209 electoral votes for Clinton and 232 for Trump.
“I need to figure out how I’m going to hold this, how I’m going to stomach this actually,” said Leeds resident Alyssa Krauss. “At the moment, I’m having trouble.”
While Clinton enjoyed an easy victory in Hampshire County, just like the rest of reliably blue Massachusetts, the two-dozen 413 for HRC campaigners gathered Tuesday were forced to grapple with the increasingly likely prospect that their candidate would lose. Many had spent months canvassing, driving up to battleground New Hampshire, while others focused their efforts locally.
Next to Krauss, John Ebbets was just as stunned. “I’m just not quite sure how it’s all going to turn out. I wish like heck they’d hurry up,” the Hatfield resident said.
Then MSNBC called Iowa for Trump.
“I can’t do this — let’s leave” Krauss said, springing up and slamming her hands on the table.
With about 72 percent of precincts reporting, Clinton had captured 60.3 percent of the Massachusetts vote. Trump trailed her with 33.7 percent. Libertarian Gary Johnson was the favorite third-party candidate, with 4.5 percent, while the Green Party’s Jill Stein won 1.5 percent.
With the majority of Hampshire County communities reporting, Clinton captured about 68.09 percent of total votes, Trump 24.98 percent, Johnson 3.68 percent and Stein 3.24 percent. (Those results exclude Belchertown, Hadley and Huntington)
Clinton won 82.31 percent of the 16,037 votes in Northampton. Trump won 11.66 percent, Johnson 2.12 percent and Stein 3.91 percent. Nearly 80 percent of registered voters turned out.
Though he voted for Trump, Western Mass Republicans Chairman Robert Grove’s reaction was not that different than some Clinton supporters.
“I don’t even know what I’m looking at here,” he said around 12:30 a.m. when the national results showed Trump with a growing lead.
One thing was clear: Trump’s message resonated with large groups of voters in other parts of the country. And that message was something that transcended ideological alignment and establishment politics.
“The matrices of standard elections have been broken — they don’t apply to this national election,” said Grove, of Wilbraham. “It’s something the likes of which we’ve never seen.”
Letitia Ward, 32, was among those holding signs for Clinton outside the Academy of Music Tuesday. As a disabled woman, she said, she’s scared of a Trump presidency. Trump’s made fun of people with disabilities, while Clinton has stood up for them as part of her life’s work.
“I’m really scared,” she said.
A notable exception to the region’s overwhelming Clinton support came from Granby, where voters gave Trump a slight edge: 1,684-1,620. Clinton proved the victor in Southampton, though the race was close: 1,744-1,692, with an 83 percent turnout.
Tuesday afternoon, some Granby youths came out in support of the GOP candidate.
When Dan Hamilton, 20, and Brendt Gordon, 20, voted at noon, they noticed no signs for Donald Trump.
They decided to come back with Suzanne, 17, and Dylan Gordon, 16, and show support at the school’s entrance. They all wore “Make America Great Again” hats and held campaign signs.
In Easthampton, where 6,210 voted for Clinton, Mark Reardon was among the 2,954 who voted for Trump — even though the choice was unpopular in his social circle.
But it was who he voted for in 2008 and 2012 that was surprising.
“I did vote for Obama,” he said. “I figured it was time to see if it would help … I think he came in at a tough time. He did what he could. He didn’t do a horrible job.”
Back at Spoleto, Northampton City Councilor Ryan O’Donnell found something to stand on amid all the confusion.
“It’s obviously a giant turning point in the country,” he said. “We just don’t know where we’re turning yet.”
Staff writers Caitlin Ashworth and Jack Suntrup contributed to this report.
Chris Lindahl can be reached at clindahl@gazettenet.com