By Donald Gilpin

Two weeks after the culmination of the fiercely fought and — at least for many — surprising, 2024 elections, politicos, local organizations, and Princeton residents from across the political spectrum are wondering what comes next.

Donald Trump and JD Vance registered a dramatic victory nationwide, winning all the swing states, and made significant gains in New Jersey in losing by only 46.1 percent to 51.9 percent. In Princeton, however, the total was about 83 percent (10,201 votes) for Kamala Harris and 16 percent (2007 votes) for Trump, and the Democrats won the mayoral election and two Council seats unopposed. Democrat Bonnie Watson Coleman coasted to reelection in the 12th Congressional District, and Andy Kim handily won in the New Jersey race for U.S. senator.

Nick DiDomizio, president of the Princeton Community Democratic Organization (PCDO), expressed concerns shared by many of his fellow Democrats. “The results in New Jersey were obviously disappointing,” he said. “It was really close, just a single digit margin for New Jersey, and I think that’s been causing a lot of despair as it pertains to next year’s governor’s race and the Assembly race.”

All 80 Assembly seats are up for grabs in the 2025 election, and with Gov. Phil Murphy not allowed to run for a third term, the 2025 governor’s race is wide open and promises to be hotly contested.

“It’s too early to say whether the disappointing trend will continue into 2025,” said DiDomizio. “The important thing in the gubernatorial primary is really trying to listen to voters, particularly in blue states like New Jersey. What has caused them to shift to the right to choose Trump over Harris?”

DiDomizio recalled Murphy’s narrow victory in 2021 and suggested that the Democrats were learning from their setbacks. “I’m hoping that we learned some lessons then, and I think we did because in the next Senate and Assembly race that came up two years later we gained seats,” he pointed out.

He stressed how important it is “to keep people engaged and on their toes, and not take next year for granted.”  DiDomizio went on, “Our plan right now is to spend some time in the new year refocusing and trying to decide how as an organization wewant to move forward.” The state elections will be first priority, he noted, but advocacy work is also a large part of the PCDO’s work.

“Obviously as the Trump administration begins to take office there will be a lot of things we need to react to on the advocacy level,” said DiDomizio.

As leader in the local Republican organization, Princeton Republican Committee Chair Dudley Sipprelle was encouraged by the election results though he acknowledged the challenges with only about 2,000 registered Republicans, about 9 percent of voters, in Princeton. 

He went on to point out that 33 percent of Princeton voters are unaffiliated and that Trump’s 16 percent of the vote in Princeton was almost double what it was in 2020.

“The voters across the country sent a message that something’s not going right,” said Sipprelle. “Trump got the pulse of the voters right. Otherwise he wouldn’t have won every swing state.”

Sipprelle claimed that Democrats are not getting the message that voters are trying to send.  “Princeton is a bubble,” he said. “From the national vote to the state vote in New Jersey to the Mercer County vote to the Princeton vote, it’s all the same. Trump’s numbers are up. Harris’ numbers are down. It is doubtful whether the political elite in Princeton and the Democratic organization are getting the message.”

Looking ahead to next year’s governor’s race, Sipprelle is optimistic, and he’s even hopeful of seeing Republicans make significant inroads in Princeton. “The Republicans are growing, expanding their presence,” he said. “We’re building the party in Princeton, and one of these days we’re going to have a candidate for Council.”

“There’s a message to be gathered out there, but Princeton Democrats don’t want to hear it,” he added. “They need to do a little honest reflection. We’re not going away, and we are building the party.”

DiDomizio did not entirely disagree with Sipprelle’s observations. “There’s been a lot of commentary this year about how Democrats are sort of losing the non-educated demographic, and Princeton as you know is highly educated,” said DiDomizio.  “I think there are going to be some very hard truths to be faced, some really uncomfortable discussions we’re going to have to have in order to understand how we bridge the gap again.”

He suggested that it’s too soon for him to go into details, but he noted that there needed to be a sharper focus on union members, laborers, and working class individuals. “We have to reach out to different groups of people, “to diversity the audience a little more, not just based on the usual demographics but also on education levels. We need to bridge those gaps.”

Sustainable Princeton, a nonpartisan organization leading Princeton in its quest to embrace clean energy and reduce its carbon footprint, sent an email to the Princeton community two days after the election, reaffirming its commitment to its mission, regardless of whether policies change in Washington.

“The election results will make the work to address climate change and build a more sustainable community harder,” the Sustainable Princeton team wrote. “But we still have power — no matter what happens at the federal level. How we choose to act as neighbors, friends, stewards of our ecosystem, and members of a larger community is still up to us.”

The message continued, “We choose to maintain Princeton as a community of compassionate people who believe in climate change, work in partnership on solutions, feel responsible for each other, and protect our most vulnerable neighbors. We choose to live in a way that upholds our values regardless of federal policies.”

The message noted that Princeton has been envisioned as a model town, and “we need to be that model town now more than ever.” It concluded, “Don’t give up. We certainly won’t.”

In a follow-up phone conversation Sustainable Princeton Executive Director Christine Symington emphasized the progress that can be made on the local level under any circumstances.

“Regardless of what federal policies may change, regardless of whether or not the new administration is going to make changes to clean energy policy, we have a lot of things we can do on a local level to reduce emissions, protect our ecosystem, and be more resilient to climate change,” she said.

The priorities of Princeton’s Climate Action Plan will remain the same, she said, and she’s hoping that provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act designed to help lower the cost in transitioning to clean energy will remain in place. “It’s a nonpartisan issue to pay less for electricity and have that electricity come from cleaner sources,” she added.

The Coalition for Peace Action (CFPA) is another Princeton organization that is nonpartisan, but it is not reluctant to engage in the arena of politics in behalf of its peacemaking agenda. CFPA Executive Director the Rev. Robert Moore sent out an email to CFPA supporters on the day after the election. 

Describing the results from the presidential race as “unexpected” and “shocking, discouraging, and depressing,” the email advised, “We must not succumb to the temptation to letting ourselves be disempowered!”

The email went on to cite “a few bright spots,” including two races targeted by the CFPA Peace Voter Campaign where the more pro-peace candidates won: Kim’s U.S Senate election and Herb Conaway’s election in New Jersey Congressional District 3.

“Don’t Mourn, Organize!” Moore’s email headline urged.