Rory York | Editor-At-Large | ayork@mail.smcvt.edu
On Election Day, my feed was filled with people I knew posting photos of themselves holding up “I Voted” stickers, with captions like “voting for women’s rights” and “voting for the right to choose.”
As a queer, feminine presenting person, my rights were on the line in this election and I was scared. But when I filled in the bubble for Harris on my ballot, my joy could not be contained as I felt the full magnitude of what it meant to be voting for a woman.
The phrase “Madam President” filled me with such hope, as it did every woman I met in the weeks leading up to the election.
Before the polls closed that Tuesday, I sat on my suitemate’s bed with tears in my eyes and confessed something I had not yet verbalized. “I have hope. I know I’m not supposed to, but I really think she might win,” I told her.
But we all know what the morning brought on that fateful Wednesday. Trump won.
Looking at the numbers of those who voted for Trump in each state and county, it was clear the notion of a woman as sitting president was just going too far. One has to wonder where Harris truly did fall short? In the end, one can only conclude America did not want a woman as president.
Many who oppose Harris claim her presidency would have just been a continuation of Biden’s. And in looking closely at her policies, it is not untrue.
Following that logic, why wouldn’t Harris perform similarly to Biden?
Much of Harris’s campaign was focused on the swing states and the minority groups that could get her elected.
Ultimately, she underperformed in almost every aspect compared to Biden in 2020, and lost every single swing state.
In 2016, Hillary Clinton ran her campaign differently than Harris. Her messaging often centered on her becoming the first woman president with the goal of breaking the glass ceiling.
Harris put herself forward as a patriot dedicated to fighting for the American people. The fact she was a woman was not an issue she brought up herself.
In her campaign Harris targeted Black men and women, Hispanic/Latinx voters and young people. Harris lost points in all of these categories compared to the 2020 election except for Black women.
Harris lost six percentage points with Black voters, with 92% voting for Biden in 2020, and 86% voting for Harris in 2024.
It is worth noting Black women voted overwhelmingly for Harris, and it was Black men who crossed over to vote for Trump in 2024, despite Trump’s bold history of racism.
Harris lost seven percentage points in younger voters, only gaining 13% of the vote in comparison to Biden’s 24%. According to Al Jazeera, Harris spent $3.9 million on a company promising to help increase young voter support and turnout.
This election saw a larger number of Hispanic and Latino men voting for Trump, with Trump gaining a 14% jump in points compared to 2020.
In an opinion piece for The Hill written by journalist and political commentator Juan Williams, Williams said the reason Harris lost was because she was a woman.
“Last week’s election was really about…millions of men — many with my Latino immigrant background, some with my skin color – who don’t want any woman, especially a woman of color, in the White House,” Williams said.
Despite Trump’s previous racist comments about immigrants and Hispanic and Latinx people, in the end, his masculinity held a much greater appeal for Hispanic and Latino men.
What must be noted is the overall move towards the right across the entire nation. Every single state shifted red during the 2024 election, even states known for being more liberal – Vermont, Massachusetts, and most notably New York- losing almost 10 percentage points from Biden to Harris.
But what also must be considered is the history of misogyny and sexism that this country is built upon. It is as much a part of the foundation of this country as any other pillar.
Harris made history by being the first woman and person of color to serve as vice president but the glass ceiling remains intact.
Despite Trump’s immoral character, criminal convictions, and policies, 312 electoral votes later gave us a clear answer and an unmistakable message. America clearly chose the candidate who is not only not a woman, but is anti-woman.