INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880
The Corne¬ Daily Sun Vol. 141, No. 11
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2024 n ITHACA, NEW YORK
8 Pages — Free
TRUMP TAKES PRESIDENCY
The Former President Will Return to Office in January By GABRIEL MUÑOZ Sun City Editor
Nov. 6 — Former President Donald Trump has officially secured the presidency, hitting the magic number of 270 electoral votes early Wednesday morning. He found crucial support in a string of swing states, including Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. A blue state for two decades before 2016, Pennsylvania was widely considered to be a must-win for Harris this election. No Democrat has secured the presidency without claiming the Keystone State since 1948.
Adding to the state’s significance this election cycle was the attempted assassination on Trump while he spoke at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13. The gunman, a Pennsylvanian recent community college graduate, shot at the former president and grazed his ear, leaving him visibly bleeding but ultimately unharmed. One audience member was killed, and two others were injured by the gunfire. Trump made gains early Wednesday morning when he won Georgia’s 16 electoral votes. The state flipped after President Joe Biden won by a margin of just under 12,000 votes in 2020.
This follows extensive campaigning by both parties in Georgia over the weekend, with events held by Trump in Middle Georgia and Harris in Atlanta. Vice Presidential candidate Tim Walz (D-MN), First Lady Jill Biden and former President Bill Clinton campaigned for Harris throughout metro Atlanta on Sunday, just two days after early voting in Georgia came to an end with a record 4 million ballots cast. To continue reading this article, please visit www.cornellsun.com. COURTESY OF DOUG MILLS / THE NEW YORK TIMES
Gabriel Munoz can be reached at gmunoz@cornellsun.com
Trump triumphs | Former president Donald Trump secured the presidential victory and will officially be the 47th president of the United States.
Seven of Eight Cornell Alumni Josh Riley Wins House Seat Running for Congress Win Seats By GABRIEL MUNOZ Sun City Editor
By SUN NEWS DEPARTMENT
Nov. 6 — Out of eight Cornell alumni vying for congressional seats across the country this election cycle, seven won their bids. Three are Republicans, who all won, while the other five are Democrats. Here is the breakdown of how those races have played out. Democrat Elissa Slotkin ’98 Wins Tight Michigan Senate Race In one of the closest races across the country, Rep. Elissa Slotkin ’98 (D-Mich.) has taken the lead over former representative Mike Rogers, a Trump-endorsed Republican, in Michigan’s Senate race. The winner will replace retiring Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), picking up a key battleground seat for their party. In this competitive race, Slotkin’s lead was narrow — .3 percent above Rogers at time of publication, with 99 percent of votes counted. A representative for Michigan’s Seventh
Congressional District, Slotkin campaigned on protecting democracy, community safety, increasing national production and expanding the middle class, according to her campaign website. Incumbent Democrat Melanie Stansbury ’07 Wins New Mexico’s First District Seat Incumbent Rep. Melanie Stansbury ’07 (D-N.M.) won reelection against retired energy executive Steve Jones in New Mexico’s first district House of Representatives race. A representative since 2021, Stansbury has championed efforts to invest in infrastructure, expand access to education and drive economic growth, focusing on policies that address climate change and equitable access to natural resources. To continue reading this article, please visit www.cornellsun.com. The Sun’s News Department can be reached at news-editor@cornellsun.com.
MING DEEMERS / SUN PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
Congressional Cornellians | Several Cornell alumni were elected into office on Election Day, including representatives from Michigan, New Mexico, Texas, Pennsylvania and Kansas.
Nov. 6 — Josh Riley (D-N.Y.) upset incumbent Rep. Marc Molinaro (R-N.Y.), winning the House seat after a close race. “In this election we came together to reject the politics of fear and division and lies, the old tired political playbook of dividing people up and pinning them against each other, the politics of tearing people down,” said Riley in a victory speech early Wednesday morning at Personal Best Brewing, an Ithaca pub. “We rejected that, and we sent a message — that’s not how we do things here. We are better than that.” Multiple student groups campaigned for increased turnout during the elections in hopes of flipping the seat. Riley told The Sun he was grateful for the increased engagement and support from college students, including Cornellians. “The results tonight — in a really close election with the stakes as high as they are — should go to show how important it is to get out, vote and make your voice heard,” Riley told The Sun Wednesday morning. “One of the highlights of my campaign was engaging on our college campuses and talking to students, and everyone who put their heart and soul into this campaign should be proud.” An Endicott, New York, native and Harvard Law School graduate, Riley ran a campaign focused on abortion rights while attacking Molinaro’s record on the issue. “[Molinaro] ran around and told everybody that he would support a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions. And then he got into Congress and voted not once, not twice, not three
DOROTHY FRANCE-MILLER / SUN ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
Representative Riley | Riley usurped incumbent Rep. Marc Molinaro on Tuesday. times, but 13 times, to restrict access to abortion services,” Riley said in a September interview with The Sun. The two candidates were separated by more than 4,000 votes in the 2022 midterm elections. Despite refusing contributions from corporate political action committees, Riley outraised Molinaro by about $3.5 million as of Oct. 16, according to the latest data on OpenSecrets. Riley, who ran on a promise to secure the border through bipartisan efforts, has blasted Molinaro as a “career politician” and criticized his opponent’s anti-immigration platform. Gabriel Munoz can be reached at gmunoz@cornellsun.com
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Democratic voters across the county hit the polls, causing a blue wave in local elections. | Page 4
Melissa Moon ’28 spotlights BFA student Havily Nwakuche’s ’25 personal and artistic growth. | Page 14
When these four freshmen met, they had zero rowing experience. 50 days later, they became champions. | Page 16
HIGH: 56º LOW: 43º