After heading to the polls and casting their votes for this year’s presidential election, students at USF waited with the rest of the nation for an outcome. 

Now, the results are in. 

Former Republican President Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential race and will step back into office as the 47th president of the U.S. in January, according to the Associated Press. 

Trump beat Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris by 69 electoral votes at the time of publication. Florida accounted for 30 of the electoral votes, with a 50.69% majority for Trump in Hillsborough County. 

Seventeen electoral votes between Arizona and Nevada were still pending at the time of publication. However, Trump is leading in both states, according to the Associated Press.

Related: Election Day draws excitement, anxiety from USF voters 

USF students shared their reactions, a mix of excitement for the years to come and fear of what Trump’s presidency might hold. 

Sam Kantrowitz, a junior mass communications major, said Trump’s win shocked him, calling the results “heartbreaking.”

“I thought Kamala Harris had so much momentum leading up to this election,” Kantrowitz said. “To find out that it was men in our generation that were the tipping point to why Trump won is just crazy.”

Trump’s campaign leveraged its male support base, with 61% of Trump’s votes in Florida coming from male voters, according to the Washington Post. 

Related: OPINION: USF Students might be divided, but let’s keep things civil

Juan Echeverry said, despite his support for the candidate, he was shocked when Trump won.

“I think everything was going towards a Kamala Harris win,” said Echeverry, a member of USF College Republicans. “I was very happy to see Trump overall overperform where I thought he was gonna underperform, he even overperformed in Democratic states.”

The senior political science major said he supported Trump in his first term but didn’t back him in this year’s primaries due to a “character issue.”

Heading into Election Day, Echeverry changed his mind.

He said seeing the former president on less traditional media platforms, like the “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast, encouraged him to vote for Trump.

“When you see Donald Trump in a one-on-one, you actually see who the candidate is,” Echeverry said. “You think, ‘Okay, this guy is not as bad as they want him to seem.’”

Kantrowitz said he was disappointed to see so many people vote in Trump’s favor. Unlike the 2016 presidential election, Trump won this year’s popular vote.

“I’m kind of at a loss that the rest of America prioritized the economy over fundamental freedoms,” Kantrowitz said.

Alexa Matos, president of USF’s College Democrats, said despite the disappointment at Harris’ loss, the club is determined to remain a safe space for students. 

“Our club is a coalition of a diverse group of students from all backgrounds and all ideologies, many who are scared for their access to healthcare, education and right to love and identify who they choose,” Matos said.

Matos also provided information to Florida’s WARM Line, a mental health hotline for Floridians not in crisis, for any students struggling mentally with the election results. 

“We are a safe space for all students who are grieving the loss of the hope to a democracy who represents all of our differences, not an administration that capitalizes off of them,” Matos said.

Related: USF students debate major policy issues ahead of election

Lilia Peacey, secretary for USF’s College Republicans, said a better economy is at the top of the list of things she anticipates from Trump’s presidency.

“A better economy, better borders and affordable life,” Peacey said. “As a legal immigrant, I say support our border patrol and deport the illegals.”

Detailing his day one priorities at a rally in Pennsylvania on Monday, Trump said if elected, “I will launch the largest deportation program of criminals in American history. We’re going to get them out. We have to.”

Echeverry, who is a Colombian immigrant, said seeing the difference in political climates between Colombia and the U.S. makes him even more proud of what the country has to offer.

“You come to this country and see all of the benefits that you get and the blessings this country has to offer,” Echeverry said. “You start to admire that form of government and how the United States shines as a beacon of light and freedom.”