Students prefer Harris/Walz over Trump/Vance
Strong participation as Upper School students express their views
In the Minnehaha Upper School election, Democrats Kamala Harris/ Tim Walz won by 62.8% of votes. Republicans Donald Trump/ JD Vance followed Harris/Walz with 27.3% of student votes.
In the two other categories on the ballot, “No Vote” received 6.4% and “Other” received 3.5%.
Voting was held during advisory period, with 88% of the 392 upper school students participating.
Absent students also had the opportunity to vote until 1:00pm today.
In addition, students voted for the U.S Senator in Minnesota. Democrat incumbent Amy Klobuchar won by 54.4%. Following came republican challenger Royce White receiving 23.3% of votes. Following came “No Vote” (18.6%) and “Other” (3.8%).
Why they voted as they did
Students were asked why they voted for their preferred candidate.
Students who voted for Harris said:
- “Project 2025 has detrimental effects for me as a Black woman. I deserve the right to my own body like every man in the country does. Also, I deserve to live my life not fearing that I might be harassed or killed. Harris and Walz support me and my rights, so I support them.”
- “I’m trans. I’m queer. If Trump is elected, queer marriage rights will be terminated, and it will be outlawed for me to get top of bottom surgery or a legal name change. Trump being reelected will make it illegal for me to be who I am for at least another four years.”
- “As a person who is in many different minority groups as well as someone who needs medicare, I know Kamala Harris will secure my rights as a minority as well as creating affordable healthcare that I need in order to function. My quality of life completely relies on the things Harris stands for.”
Students who voted for Trump said:
- “I believe he delivered a better economy, lower cost of living, cheaper gas, geopolitical peace, and a secure border. I also believe Kamala’s stance on abortion, men in women’s sports, and gender reassignment surgeries are unethical.”
- “I think he is a strong leader, and I agree with a lot of his policies on abortion, the economy, and crime. I think he will be tougher on crime and make a more secure border. I think with him as president the economy will grow.”
- “Because he proved himself during his time in office. The economy continued to grow, unemployment was lower, the border was secured, and taxes were reasonable.”
Key issues differ
When asked which three issues were most important to them, Harris voters and Trump voters had very different priorities.
The top five issues for Harris voters are:
- Abortion (60.9% of voters identified this as a priority issue)
- Discrimination (41.1%)
- Health care (30.7%)
- Gun policy (28.6%)
- Climate change (28.1%)
The top five issues for Trump voters are:
- Economy (59%)
- Immigration (42.2%)
- Abortion (41%)
- Tax policy (30.1%)
- Crime 21.7%)
Confidence in results, yet fear of violence
Voters also expressed a relatively high level of confidence what the announced results will be in the actual election, but they expressed a relatively high level of fear that violence will follow the announced results. (Details about these questions will be added soon, as this story gets updated.)
Read all about it
The next print issue of The Talon newspaper will include much more detailed results of today’s student election (“M.A. Votes”) and the actual election (“USA Votes”).
Use fact-checking websites as you follow the U.S. vote
Students watching the actual election outcomes tonight can use two fact-checking websites to evaluate claims made by and about political candidates. Both are staffed by professional journalists.
Local media sources also have their fact-checking projects, which give extra focus to local candidates and issues.