Nebraska Republicans Celebrate Election Victory

Nebraska Republicans are celebrating this morning after Donald Trump’s presidential election victory. The state’s GOP leaders say the win means good things for the future and a change at the top in Washington D.C.

It wasn’t hard to tell victory was in the air last night at the Marriott Hotel in Omaha. That’s where Nebraska GOP leaders gathered to monitor the election returns and watch as Donald Trump finished his improbable march to the White House.

“I think what it sends as a message is we as Americans have stood up and let our voice be heard," said Bud Synhorst, executive director of the Nebraska Republican Party. "And people are frustrated with some of the things going on and they want some new outlooks coming out of Washington.”

Synhorst says Trump’s historic run has meant good things for Nebraska’s Republican Party.

“We’ve had new voters who have never voted in their life before coming into our office every day for the last seven or eight months and it’s because of Donald Trump. And that’s not just in Nebraska, that’s been happening all over the country," Synhorst said. "And so when you look at the polls that people were talking about the last few weeks, I’ve been saying I don’t trust the polls because there’s a lot of people getting involved this year that haven’t been involved in the past and I think it showed tonight.”

Not far away at the Ramada in Omaha, it was a much different scene. Nebraska Democrats watched as Hillary Clinton’s dreams of the presidency ended. Nebraska Democratic Party chair Vince Powers says he’s still trying to process Trump’s big win.

“I’m like everyone else. I’m very, very surprised. I guess that’s why they call it an upset," Powers said. "I’ve never heard Donald Trump lay out of plan, so I don’t know what it was that people thought he would accomplish, but I guess we’ll see.”

Powers says Democrats in Nebraska have their work cut out for them ahead.