<div>The numbers of those who gathered for an election night watch party at Western New Mexico University’s Miller Library were small, but they offered some insights to what students thought of the 2026 elections.The centralization of power in the federal executive branch under President Trump is something that WNMU student Jeremie Barnes has watched with interest.“Unfortunately, from an entropy standpoint … we’re all gonna kind of see the lashback from it,” he said. “There’s a tendency for every major empire to go through this, growing pains and giving too much centralized power to a point of warfare.“The breakdown of bureaucracy … we’re seeing right now — like, the infrastructure is crumbling, bridges, the Postal Service being completely gutted — for no other reason than just elections, and the fact that executive power is through the roof,” he continued.Despite those thoughts, Barnes said he felt optimistic about the future.“It’s inevitable that we are going to see an up, because we’re gonna see it down,” he said. “And we’re going to see it down because we’ve been up.”Keanu Justice and Kiana Valdo also both said they felt optimistic about the future, no matter the night’s results.“I feel like if I make it how I want it to be, then that’s what’s going to happen,” Justice said.She said politics has always been an interest in her family, and they had some influence on her own leanings. Valdo said she leaned red — Republican — while Justice leaned blue — a Democrat.Both Justice and Valdo said they were mainly interested in watching New Mexico races. They said it had been difficult to make their choices, given the campaign advertising.“I just feel like people say they’re gonna do this and that and that and this, but they don’t ever follow through,” said Justice, who is studying for a minor in political science. “So I’m just hoping for this election, with all the promises people are making, that they actually follow through, and especially with inflation and gas prices. I know everyone agrees on that.”“I believe that both [parties] became very corrupt, and they’re both trying to just blame each other — like, who’s better than the other — when both their ideals align, which is kind of funny,” Valdo said. “Being Native, we don’t really have a party.”She said even though she tended to side with Republicans, this year there were some differences, especially with the Native nations.“We had to really stand and have all tribal leaders come together to fight with how the government was trying to attack ancestral sites for drilling and all that,” she said. “So basically, I voted for the best for the environment.”Justice said she also voted for who she believed would be the best person for the job, and not necessarily for a party.“There’s no such thing as a good political party, but I voted for the person, what they were advocating,” she said.Both said they turned to news sites and watched debates to become informed about candidates, and also looked to social media influencers.“It’s kind of hard not to become biased by watching a TikTok or Instagram post, or ads on YouTube about who’s doing this, who’s doing that,” Valdo said. “Especially when it’s your favorite influencer.”Justice said the social media influencers can affect her opinions if they are among her favorites, and if they say they are going to vote for who she would likely vote for.“I feel like that’s how our generation’s voting and interest in political parties comes from, social media,” Valdo said. “I would say it’s a big part of my decision.”But family balances that out, they both said.“My dad’s an oilfield worker, so I had to balance and see what helps his job,” Justice said.—JUNO OGLE</div>

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The numbers of those who gathered for an election night watch party at Western New Mexico University’s Miller Library were small, but they offered some insights to what students thought of the 2026 elections. The centralization of power in the federal executive branch under President Trump is something that...

Students share election thoughts at watch party

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The numbers of those who gathered for an election night watch party at Western New Mexico University’s Miller Library were small, but they offered some ins

Students share election thoughts at watch party

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