College Democrats and Republicans are looking to the future following this month's election.
Isaiah Torres of the New Mexico State University College Democrats says he's encouraged by the increase in voter turnout and President-elect Joe Biden's victory.
“This just really shows that Americans now really do care about politics and how politics can play in their lives and I have a lot of expectations from the Biden- Kamala Harris administration.”
President Donald Trump acknowledged Biden's victory in a tweet, saying quote "he won," but Trump refuses to concede.
Edward Kilroy is Vice-Chair of the NMSU College Republicans, and, like Trump, he says he does not accept the results.
“I think we'll just have to wait to see basically on what happens with all the votes and the way that it's structured for our voting process and what happens with the election as a whole.”
While many Republicans continue to dispute the election results, Torres is optimistic about the future of the Biden-Harris Administration.
“I feel like Joe Biden is really going to do is just bring us together during this time of this tragedy.”
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency disputes Trump's statements and echoed repeated assertions by election experts and state officials. In a report saying this year's election was the most secure ever, the agency said quote “There is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes or was in any way compromised.”
Torres worries about how Trump's actions might undermine our democracy.
“There has not been evidence, yet there are claims that there has been voter fraud in certain places but they were kind of renounced, but this is very worrisome for me because he is really undermining the integrity and the legitimacy of our election.”
There were some bright spots for Republicans. Democrats lost seats in the House, including New Mexico's 2nd District Congressional seat, with incumbent Xochitl Torres Small being defeated by Yvette Herrell. Torres says he wishes her well.
“I expect that Herrell to try to represent district two as best as possible. And I'm wishing her the best of luck. And just trust that she makes the right decisions and has a good heart when she's making those decisions as well.”
Edward Kilroy worked on Herrell's campaign during the summer and is excited to see what she brings to the next Congress.
“I think it's important for some of the kind of “kangaroo” bills that they put forth against our Second Amendment right, I think Yvette will stand strong for that. As well as our energy here in New Mexico, I think she'll be a great representative.”
Kilroy is Pro-Gun and advocates for freedom of expression. But he adds that there is a need for unity.
“I would like to see us become more unified and realize that we can have differences of opinion. However, that doesn't mean that you’re a good or bad person so that politics are so divisive in terms of lifestyle or people that is just a difference of opinion.”