In one of the most contentious  political contests since the founding of the country, American citizens elected Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States.

Trump defeated former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by winning 279 electoral votes to her 228. 

Throughout their campaigns, people saw a trail of scandals and outbursts that had many questioning if either major party candidate is qualified for the position.  

The ups and downs had many states split between the two parties. Texas, which has been strictly Republican since 1976, had been named a ‘toss up’ state by a Washington Post poll.

Many places also saw  an increase of registered voters. On the first day of early voting in Harris County,a record 67,471 in-person voters shattered the previous 47,093 record set in 2012.

K-Park senior Kolbey Schoener is a diehard Republican who thinks Trump’s lack of political ties make him fit for presidency. Schoener believes  Clinton is a criminal.

“He’s not a politician so he doesn’t have any corruption,” Schoener said. “He’s just a businessman and running the country is kind of like running a business.”

Senior Andrew Cornwell is not able to vote in this election but supports Clinton and the Democratic party. Cornwell, who likes her position on the  the restriction of firearms, is pro-choice and supports gay marriage and feels like her policies would be better for the country’s future. Cornwall feels like her past political roles will be better than a businessman’s background.

“I just feel like we need an experienced politician to lead the country,” he said. “Not someone who has had no experience dealing with the roles that come with being in the cabinet or the actual presidency.”

Senior Gabriel Zolton was undecided about whether to stick to his Republican values and vote Trump or vote third party. He likes Trump’s plans for cutting back on foreign aid going to countries that view the U.S. as an enemy and Libertarian Gary Johnson’s plan for revamping taxes.

However, Zolton was not really impressed by what any of the candidates have to offer and doesn’t feel like his first election is fair to him.

“I feel a bit cheated, none of the candidates seem to be good options,” Zolton said. “I wish we could just vote to do the whole thing over with different candidates.”