Sometime soon (conceivably even Tuesday night?), we’ll know who the next President will be. You have plenty of choices for hard-nosed election coverage, but we here at Washingtonian are largely interested in how this election feels. After all, life for many people in this region is profoundly affected by the administration in power. So we’ve fanned out around town to find out how this election is landing on you. Washingtonians. The people we write for and about. This live blog will be updated until a victor is declared or we go to sleep. Depending on how we feel.
Helpful links
• Election night watch parties, food specials, drink specials
• Our food critic’s guide to comfort food
• DC’s only bar that’s publicly supporting Trump
• Where to rage, cry, and laugh around town
Last update for the evening: It seems safe to say that the vibes around town are currently suboptimal. The streets are mostly quiet. The only noise near Lafayette Square when we walked by late Tuesday came from a small group of Trump supporters surrounded by press. We’ll get back to it in a few hours. Thanks for reading.
The Admiral: It’s good to be out with friends
There aren’t enough tables at the Admiral. Many folks stand around the bar area, where TVs are on every wall. I try to get the bartender’s attention wait for at least ten minutes to order. I strike up a conversation with the couple waiting next to me.
Caroline Jacobs lives in Logan Circle and is originally from Chicago. She says that she was involved in Pennsylvania canvassing. When asked if she and her partner, Nathaniel, will be out all night, Caroline says, “No, no no no, I will be on my couch with wine” and that they’re “here for the vibes.” (Us too!)
I’m not the only person who’s been at two locations tonight: Mina Ye says that her group of friends was at Teddy’s before this. They missed their original reservation at the Admiral because Teddy’s was so packed, but they got in and they’re hanging around. “I can’t seem to watch the news on my own, especially on a night like this, so I’m glad to be with friends,” she says.
Her top priority in the election is women’s rights. She came with a large group of friends, one of whom is Aryan Rakesh, a first-time voter from India. “I’ve always followed the previous elections but this one is different, being in DC and being able to see it with other people who are as invested as me, whereas that was never the case before,” he says. “It feels like emotions are charged but everyone’s in good spirits, which is very unique. You’d think that people are getting emotional or getting charged but it feels like everyone’s here to enjoy it.” —Daniella Ignacio
A therapist describes a jittery DC
Monica Band is a therapist based in Capitol Hill—Washingtonian asked this afternoon if she had time for a quick phone call to talk about election anxiety. She did not: “As you can imagine, I have lots of appointments today,” she wrote in an email. She sent a follow-up shortly before 7 PM.
“I intentionally chose to work on Election Day, aware that it would likely be an emotionally charged day for many,” Band wrote. “In the weeks leading up, I saw how deeply the election had stirred up a wide spectrum of feelings, from mild caution to profound anxiety and, in some cases, even panic over the future.”
Band says her clients were worried Tuesday about the impact the election’s outcome could have on their livelihoods—those “who work in government-adjacent roles or in nonprofits expressed concern over funding, policy changes, or a possible redirection in priorities that could leave them vulnerable.”
The environment around Band’s clients is not exactly reassuring. Increased security measures cropping up downtown sparked conversations about January 6: “A few clients found themselves reliving that day in unexpected ways, grappling with fears that more unrest could follow,” she wrote.
At 9 PM, as I’m typing this up, DC has been comfortably called for Harris. One would imagine that most of Band’s clients dropped their anxieties about civil unrest straight into the ballot box, but that wasn’t exactly so. She tells us that, as expected, some viewed voting this year as a “moral imperative.” But for others, “choosing not to participate was a way of rejecting a system they felt didn’t truly represent their voices”—insight only a therapist could have beneath the surface of this city, where the democratic process so often feels like the center of our universe.
Regardless of how—or if—her clients civically engaged today, Band felt that the general unease around this race serves as a reminder of “just how connected we all are, how each decision in an election ripples into our daily lives, influencing our sense of security, stability, and belonging.”
As for Band? She’s biting her nails to the quick, just like the rest of us. Lucky for her, though, she is professionally trained in the art of taking a step back. Despite her own anxiety, she has a pretty constructive outlook on the whole thing.
“The advice most often given for election anxiety is to focus on what we can control, to contribute our gifts where we’re able,” she wrote. Thus, working today—”offering a space for people to process, to feel seen, and to steady themselves in the face of the unknown”—was her coping mechanism. —Kate Corliss
Dirty Water: “We just made a baby with our beers”
H Street is weirdly quiet this election night, but at Dirty Water, DC’s only openly pro-Trump bar, Republicans from across the DMV are gathering for election results, and they’re ready to make some noise. My dad, who tagged along curious about the turnout, was convinced he “fit the bill” of a Trump supporter as a white middle-aged man with a beard. The problem is, he wore a C-SPAN hat, winning him comments like “Are you covering this or something?”
Once we navigate the 15-minute line up the dark staircase riddled with holes in the drywall, we find dozens of Trump voters in MAGA hats, some sporting American flag suits. We navigate the lower level, sipping on Shock Tops and chatting with voters, all to the tune of cheers as every screen playing Fox News declares victories for Trump. “Show that bitch!” a man wearing a “Never Surrender” shirt yells.
After navigating the crowds of the lower level, we climb stairs up to a funky balcony to find yet another screen showing the Fox News poll results. As Vice President Harris gains some momentum in North Carolina, a man proudly wearing a long red tie declares to the group clustered around the screen: “This is exactly what they do. It’s their campaign strategy. They just steal it every goddamn time, and I’m sick of it!” To which his loyal compadres cheer and clunk beer glasses together so aggressively that ale sloshes over the sides into one another’s glasses. “We just made a baby with our beers,” one man wearing an eagle tie declares. “Comrade Kamala would hate that.”
Before making my way out as reporters from all over the world swarmed the bar, I speak with some voters who were not too pleased with the presence of the media. A man sidled up to me to say, “You know there’s an undercover Bloomberg reporter here. Watch your back.” —Tatyana Masters
Howard University: Cheers and hope
As polls close and projections slide onto screens, Richardson is hopeful that with the unity shown on the grounds tonight, “women are going to pull this through for us.” —Mirika Rayaprolu
Political Pattie’s: The vibes are ood
At DC’s haven for bipartisan imbibing on U Street, people are decked out in Harris gear, “I Voted” stickers, and one pink Make America Great Again hat. The bartender is shaking up cocktail specials such as the “Espresso-Obama-tini” and the “Elephant in the Room” while ABC news plays on the TVs. There’s a smattering of applause when DC is called for Harris.
Every so often, someone steps up to the bar’s replica of the White House lectern to snap a photo memory of the night. The lighting is bright, illuminating stickers on the wall that say: “Whatever you are, be a ood one.” (Yes, it’s missing the “g” in good. Yes, it feels like an omen—but of what, I’m not sure.)
Raushaun from Mount Pleasant, the man in the MAGA hat, says he decided to come after reading an article about Political Patties in which the bar “got really trashed,” and he wanted to see it for himself. He’s found the party to be “pretty bipartisan,” even as a Trump voter in blue Washington. As for his pink cap? “It takes a real man to wear pink,” he says. —Daniella Byck
Union Pub: The race to 270 shots
CNN plays from one of many, many TVs along the wall at NoMa’s Union Pub. A poll at the bottom of the screen over the bar asks respondents whether America’s best days are ahead or in its past. Most everyone I’ve spoken to at this watch party seems to agree that the future is bright. This could be related to their enthusiastic participation in the bar’s “Race to 270” challenge—if patrons order at least 270 total specialty blue, red, and purple vodka concoctions tonight, the whole bar will get a free round of shots.
At 6 PM, Democratic Hill staffers packing one table tell me they feel hopeful—they tell me this was the general consensus among their colleagues today, which says something because they report they’ll be “out of a job” if this election doesn’t go their way.
A trio of young women sitting on the concrete lining the patio tells Washingtonian the same thing. They came to Union for the first presidential debate, the RNC, the DNC, the other presidential debate, the vice presidential debate, and now tonight. Why? “It’s good to be together.”
The clock strikes 7 PM, and the bar erupts in cheers. This could be because Sam, the bar’s PR rep, is waltzing through the crowd, bearing a whiteboard scrawled with a promising 270 Challenge update. This could also be because a slew of swing state polls just closed, and everybody is excited to get on with the show. This could also be because Fox News has just called Kentucky for Trump. A guy walking past me whoops, then looks at the nearest TV: “Oh wait, what are we cheering for?”
Marci has been here since 10:58 AM. She’s from Texas and is visiting her boyfriend in DC. Since she worked remotely today, she figured she’d save her friends a table. No matter what happens tonight, she hopes everyone is “respectful” of one another. —Kate Corliss
What’s it like to rehearse on election night?
In a city where art often intersects with activism and politics, some theater artists had to work on election night.
“I’ll have my phone propped up on my piano.”
Elisa Altman Rosman spent an hour Tuesday morning volunteering as a poll greeter at Culpepper Garden in Arlington. Come evening, the music director was at a rehearsal for a workshop of a musical called Hard Luck Cafe at Catholic University. It’s a choreography rehearsal with some downtime, so she plans to keep up with updates from the New York Times and 538.
“It’s a three-week workshop, and so we’re super-pressed on time anyway,” Rosman says. “I’ll have my phone propped up on my piano. I’m going to try to be very good and not assume that everybody in the room shares my vote, shares my views. I know that there are some people who will be as strung out in the room as I am.”
When Rosman gets out of rehearsal, she plans to go straight home and park right in front of the TV with her husband and youngest son. “I don’t know if even music can cut it this year,” she says. “But I actually do think having rehearsals to go to and music to make with people will be helpful for that sense of community.”
“It’s definitely better to feel like I’m doing something with my art”
When the company of The Pliant Girls at Theatre Prometheus and Nu Sass in Silver Spring found out they’d have a put-in rehearsal (the theater term for a rehearsal when understudies take over parts) election night, the initial reaction was “What?” But others then thought: “Maybe we should.”
Evelyn Micacci and Shana Laski are “swings”—understudies for multiple roles—in this show, and Tuesday night is their one shot to practice the whole show. Micacci supposes it will be weird to be “stepping into this different reality for three hours and then walking out, knowing that the world could be an entirely different place by the time you’re done.”
Playwright Meghan Brown’s modern, feminist, and queer riff on Aeschylus’ The Suppliants is about a group of sisters who are forced into arranged marriages by their father. The play speaks about “people that don’t know their choices aren’t really choices,” Laski says. “It feels good to be in a production during this time that feels like it’s addressing these things, as opposed to something that feels escapist or irrelevant.”
High energy at Howard
Around 2,000 students, faculty, and university officials are convening in Howard University’s Burr Gymnasium to follow election results. The energy on campus runs high as students prepare to welcome Howard alumna Kamala Harris to campus for her election night event. Trinidy Higgins, Ann Laurie Pierre, Jay Jones, Hamid Jalloh, Tariah Hyland, and Marlee Williams are among many feeling the vibe.
“It excites us and even inspires us to be in positions such as this one,” says Pierre, an undergraduate student. “The highest position of the land, and she’s representing us!”
All five say Harris’ presence on campus meant a lot to them. “Hope and belief are the biggest things for me, and I feel that on campus right now,” says Jalloh, a nursing student. “This is a life-changing event,” Williams says. “Our potentially first female, Black, Howard alumna president bringing Howard in the light—I get to be here at Howard for this.” —Mirika Rayaprolu
The scene at McClellan’s Retreat
Walking around Dupont feels eerie. There are very few people outside. I walk into McClellan’s Retreat, a bar that advertised that it doesn’t have TVs. There are five customers here in total, mostly regulars. I hear from them that by this point on a normal Tuesday, there are usually more people. And, you know, people probably want to go to a bar with a TV tonight. I take a sip out of the drink I’ve ordered out of courtesy and quietly sit back. A little later, a couple comes in and tells the bartender, Chris, “Thank you for not having a TV.” His response: “We want to make it as stress-free as possible.”—Daniella Ignacio
Vibe check: Lafayette Square and Black Lives Matter Plaza, 6:01 PM
Things were pretty loud at Lafayette Square on Tuesday evening. A small Christian rally whose speakers spoke through a PA battled for ear space with two women singing songs in support of Kamala Harris on their own PA. A guy on a bike pulling a trailer that claimed Donald Trump was the antichrist repeatedly rode through scene, blasting some sort of significant noise on his own, presumably battery-powered PA. Outside the park on Black Lives Matter Plaza, correspondents stood ready for live shots.
Vibe check: Howard University (Harris HQ)
“It’s all very Biblical.”
The above flier was found on the car of our food editor, Jessica Sidman, and upon seeing her bewildered Slack message, fate emboldened me to contact Miss Lisa. It turns out, Miss Lisa had been waiting for me to call all day. There was, in fact, a reason she flyered cars in DC on Election Day—she had something to share with the people:
“I believe fate is going to take its direction. I know I sound very Christian saying this, but what’s happening now, it’s all very Biblical.”
To make a long story short, Donald Trump is going to win, much to Miss Lisa’s dismay. But what will Trump’s America 2: The Sequel look like?
“Life will be all different. Money will be better. Oh my goodness, Molly, money will be better—so much better. The economy will be better, but everything else will be so, so, so, so bad. Our rights, our security, our friends and our allies, it’s just so scary.”
Oh no! I expressed fear, as this was the last thing I wanted to hear. Will there be any recourse we can take?
“All we can do is pray that the Lord takes over and let the Lord’s will be done. That’s all we can do.”
Well all right then. Do with that information what you will, reader. I was enthusiastically invited to visit Miss Lisa in person for her $10 palm reading special, and if what she says will happen is true, I might just take her up on it—I’m going to need some pretty serious spiritual guidance. —
Vibe check: The Election Prayer Vigil at Washington National Cathedral
In the hushed pews, some devotees were no doubt praying for a particular candidate, some just for a peaceful election.
Marie and Ralph Kissick say they had never been to the cathedral on Election Day before.
“It’s such a divisive election,” Ralph says. “It’s so important that the electorate get it right.”
“I believe in prayer,” says another voter, Nina Pope. “I want there to be unity in the United States regardless of who wins.” —Ike Allen
How are you spending election night?
We asked our Instagram followers how they plan to spend Tuesday night. Here’s what they told us:
Vibe check: Harris watch party sets up at Howard University
What are DC-area newsrooms eating tonight?
The Washington Post
Newspaper staff are treated to a full day of food: bagels from Call Your Mother, treats from Georgetown Cupcakes and Levain Bakery, java from Jaliyaa Coffee, and then dinner from Tigo’s Peruvian & Mexican Grill on H Street and Hong Kong-style Chinese restaurant Tiger Fork. For the late-night crew, there’s jumbo slices from Duccini’s Pizza in Adams Morgan.
Politico
The team is bringing in food from two spots during Election Night: J & J’s Mex-Taqueria for dinner, and then Manny & Olga’s Pizza for the late shift.
Fox News
Senior White House correspondent Peter Doocy and the White House team are dining on deviled eggs and buffalo chicken sandwiches from gastropub Blackfinn, located blocks from the White House. Reporting from the Harris event at Howard University, senior White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich will be snacking on beef jerky and a protein bar.
NBC4 Washington
The newsroom is dining on barbecue with mac’n’cheese, cole slaw, and beans, courtesy of in-house food service Flik.
Axios
What’s on the menu for the Arlington-based newsroom? Chipotle and We, the Pizza, plus a fridge stocked with Celsius energy drinks in preparation for a tiring day.
CBS News
The network is hitting two different pizza shops for its late-night meal: the funky pies at Boogy & Peel for the group at the Harris event and New York-style slice shop Wise Guys for the bureau. (They’ll also get coffee, snacks and dinner from CNF catering tonight.) There are already plans for breakfast Wednesday morning at 6:30 AM from Panera.
PoPville
As a staff of one, PoPville proprietor Dan Silverman reports that he is currently being powered by Nanny O’Brien’s honey-mustard-based Virginia-style chicken wings, which he had for lunch. Dinner will be a za’atar bagel from Call Your Mother he has stashed in his freezer. “After my kids go to sleep,” he writes, “I plan on pilfering some of their Halloween candy accompanied by a generous gin (Tanqueray) and tonic (Canada Dry) with a splash of Campari.”
Please send your newsroom menu to Daniella Byck: dbyck@washingtonian.com.
Vibe check: The park near JD Vance’s house in Del Ray
You don’t have to watch the election like it’s a ballgame
It’s not that I should know better. It’s that I do know better. I used to cover sports, which means I used to sit in press boxes, dorky media ID lanyard draped around my neck, intently watching the action on the floor unspool in real time, every goal and point and touchdown and run scored moving me closer to an outcome—a winner and a loser and story to tell about how it happened. (Oh, and also some absolutely brutal deadlines. I don’t miss those!) Election night also produces winners and losers and a story to tell. Maybe that’s why it’s packaged and presented in the manner of a live game: vote counts coming in like points being scored, pundits yammering like halftime analysts, stat guys jabbing touchscreens like John Madden working a telestrator, utterly cursed win probability needles sagging and spiking. All of this creates an inescapable, probably intentional sense that you’re watching the competition play out, right in front of your eyes, that someone’s winning and someone’s losing, but maybe that could turn around at any moment, and you can’t look away because you might miss something important. Yes, Donald Trump has an early lead, but Kamala Harris is a fourth-quarter player! Only, no: that’s not how any of this works. As MSNBC’s Chris Hayes has so helpfully pointed out, elections aren’t a basketball game. Election night coverage is more akin to “hearing the results of a full basketball game, basket by basket, but being read totally out of order after the game already ended.”
WATCH– @chrislhayes on election night vote counting:
“It’s like hearing the results of a full basketball game, basket by basket, but being read totally out of order after the game already ended.” pic.twitter.com/GbbzVQhzN1
— All In with Chris Hayes (@allinwithchris) November 2, 2024
Hayes made the above point in the context of Trump-y lies that elections are rigged—only against him personally, and only by relatively infinitesimal vote margins in a handful of states, and only when he loses in those states, but anyway—which draw strength from a sports fan-adjacent feeling of my guy was winning big early, how could he end up losing tight late? Something’s fishy. If you’re the sort of person who thinks elections are being stolen despite a lack of credible evidence (for instance, you own the social media platform formerly known as Twitter), this is a good point to keep in whatever’s left of your brainworm-addled mind.
But even if you’re a non-conspiratorial normie, it’s also worth remembering. Because otherwise, watching election night coverage can be as tense, anxious, and downright emotionally ruinous as watching your favorite school play in March Madness, living and dying with every three-point heave. You will find yourself cheering or booing when California is projected blue; high-fiving or pouring another drink when exit polls hint that the Dobbs decision was more/less impactful than anyone predicted; and generally allowing your amygdala to be hijacked by how quickly Pennsylvania civil servants are able to count ballots.
Thing is, you don’t have to do this! You don’t have to watch the election like a game. You don’t have to watch at all, or compulsively refresh your social media feed. Once the polls close, the game is already over. The votes will be counted. You’ll know—and have to live with—the result. Why make a roller-coaster out of what is essentially a waiting period, the time between turning on your laptop and getting to your home screen? Why ruin your night for no good reason? Do something else. Do anything else. Watch a movie, go dancing, knit a sweater, read a book, pet your dog, call your mom, kill some zombies in the new Call of Duty. Heck, play some actual sports: the outcome will still be in doubt, and you can actually make an impact.As for me? I’ll be glued to the television tonight, and doomscrolling a second screen. I might know better, but I’m not ready to do better. Go team! —Patrick Hruby
Vibe check: Ninth and C streets, Northeast
Vibe check: Core Power Yoga
Clear your head of swing states—this Shaw workout studio is all about the flow state, baby. If I were a Harris campaign staffer stationed at Howard tonight, I would be sticking my head into the lobby of this place every hour for a gulp of the serene, disinfected air. The smell of spandex emanating from the athleisure sale rack is intoxicating at a time like this. Maybe physical activity really is good for mental health.
“This studio has a lot of community at Howard,” Emily Marquis, the studio coordinator, tells Washingtonian on Tuesday afternoon. “So I think that everyone’s just excited for all the festivities that are happening around here in our neighborhood.”
Whether patrons are there to channel their Election Day enthusiasm into exercise—or to twist their bodies into positions that make it impossible to refresh Twitter—business has been good throughout the last couple of weeks. Classes typically fill up more quickly in the fall anyway, according to Marquis, but she notes that themed “women empowerment classes” have been particularly busy.
Can the yogis of CorePower offer any advice to Washingtonians on how we can maintain some semblance of zen tonight? “I think it’s important to manifest positivity, so I think if you want a certain outcome, putting the power of positive thinking into it is very important,” Marquis says. “Break out the crystals.” (901 W Street, Northwest; Suite A.) —Kate Corliss
Vibe check: Chevy Chase Community Center, Tuesday morning
