It may have been cold and rainy outside, but temperatures in many rooms across campus were rising as Tuesday night wore on.
At Macmillan, more and more chairs were brought in and one student propped up a giant Kerry-Edwards sign in the back of the room. As states were called, students cheered Kerry's success in New Jersey, shouted over senatorial upsets, and waited tensely to hear the results from Maine's second district. It was the beginning of a long night.
At 9:00 p.m., Co-President of the Bowdoin and Maine College Democrats Alex Cornell du Houx '06 sat with his cell phone on his lap, waiting for the phone call that would tell him the results of the second district.
"It's been a phenomenal turnout rate in Maine," he said. "We're still waiting to hear the results of the second district, but I believe it went to Kerry. We're anxious but confident about the second district."
When Maine's first district was first called for Kerry, many Democrats were pleased that they had chosen to vote in Maine.
"I'm happy that I contributed to Kerry winning in Maine," Ben Ripman '07 said. "This makes me feel like my vote actually counted."
Although exit polls looked favorable for Kerry, College Democrats Political Director Charlie Ticotsky '07, College Democrats felt that before 9:00 p.m., it would be too early to make predictions about most swing states.
"Right now it's all speculation, the commentators are struggling to say anything," he said at 8:30 p.m. "In twenty minutes, I think we'll know more. I wouldn't be surprised if we find out by tonight at 2:00 a.m."
Frank Chi '07 thought New Jersey might be a good portent for the Kerry campaign.
"There were lots of predictions about New Jersey being a really tight race," he said. "It's looked really close in the polls over the last couple of weeks. The fact that they called it for Kerry isn't so surprising, but the fact that they called it so early is. It's a good sign for the Democrats, but New Jersey does usually go for the Democratic candidate."
Fred Fedynyshyn '05 had hoped to see Kerry start the evening off strong by wining West Virginia.
"If Kerry had gotten West Virginia, it would've been the icing on the cake," he said. "It could've been the start of a significant victory. Other important swing states will be Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Michigan."
At 10:00 p.m., several students breathlessly rushed into Macmillan. They had just returned from Mexico, Maine where they had been working to get out the vote since 1:00 p.m.
Said Meredith Segal '08, "To picture Mexico, Maine, imagine a mill town complete with smoke stacks. Every person I met either worked at or had worked at the mill. The people were awesome and we met cool folks. We won't know the second district for a while, but it's looking good."
In their Chamberlain dorm room, Carla Helfer '07 and Elizabeth Sweet '07 anxiously watched states light up on MSNBC.
"We're biting our nails like crazy!" said Sweet as she watched the results of the presidential race come in on TV and checked online to see the updated results for the Senate race in Pennsylvania, her home state.
Around 10 p.m., Floridian Nicole Alvarez '07 joined Sweet and Helfer. Alvarez predicted that it would be a long time before the networks called her home state.
"I don't think we'll find out who has won tonight," she said. "Florida is going to be close, just as the whole election will be close. We won't be finding out soon, especially since my state is saying it won't finish counting absentee ballots until Thursday."
Michael Boulette '07 and Jared Swanson '07, both active members of the College Republicans, also came to watch the election results in the Chamberlain dorm room.
Boulette watched MSNBC's coverage of the results in Ohio and Florida with keen interest. He said, "If both Ohio and Florida go to Kerry, there's a chance that Bush could win, but only if he can win Democratic states, but that's asking a lot. It's almost as much as asking him to speak a coherent sentence."
When MSNBC announced that Pennsylvania had fallen for Kerry, Sweet erupted in cheers, but Swanson was less than pleased.
"I'm disappointed about Pennsylvania [going to Kerry]," said Swanson. "Up until today, polls were showing that the race was a dead heat, so what's happened today must mean that turnout is high. The moment Ohio falls to Kerry is the moment I break out the gin. I'll still hold on to the hope that Wisconsin and Iowa will go for Bush, but it's a slight hope."
Despite differences in opinion, all the students gathered in the Chamberlain double agreed that the high turnout rate was exciting and hopeful. As the networks continued to call states in favor of Bush or Kerry, Swanson noted with appreciation, "We're living history."