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“Enjoy your choice America,” were the words a Wellington man wrote in blue chalk in front of the Lulu Bar on Courtenay Place while a surveillance party hosted by the US embassy was going on.
Scott Brown, the US ambassador to New Zealand, who was at the capital’s event on Wednesday night before flying to Auckland, said early in the evening that it looked like there could be a long wait before the results were known. complete elections.
“No one is shedding tears, there are no surprises that I am seeing at all. I think [Donald Trump’s] Florida is going to win, it’s really just a matter of time, ”he said of Trump’s leadership in the state Wednesday night.
Brown said it would likely come down to Pennsylvania, which has been described as a pivotal state in the elections. That wait could be a week or two, Brown said. However, the Senate would be known.
ROBERT KITCHEN / Things
The United States Ambassador to New Zealand, Scott Brown, and the United States Embassy held an election party at Lulu Bar on Courtenay Place in Wellington.
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Meanwhile, the mood Wednesday at the Democrats Abroad viewing party in Wellington at The Green Man Pub on Victoria St was “a bit anxious and nervous,” said Dawn Dromgool, the group’s New Zealand treasurer and secretary. .
“We are cautiously optimistic,” Dromgool said Wednesday night. “It’s going to get to Pennsylvania. We [had] good hopes in texas but it doesn’t seem [like it is going] that way.”
Many non-electoral votes have not been counted and he hopes they will make a difference. Dromgool was confident that Joe Biden, the Democratic candidate, would win the popular vote. But whether he would win the Electoral College was another matter.
ROBERT KITCHEN / Things
Scott Brown said full results may not be known for a week, depending on how Pennsylvania votes.
The liquor flowed as the results kept flowing. “There is a lot of that.”
Back at Lulu Bar, about 150 people had gathered, roughly the same number as the Democrats Abroad party.
Joining Brown, who was there with his wife, Gail Huff, were a variety of New Zealand politicians, as well as a large media presence. Lots of people were on their phones and checking for live updates as the results kept coming in.
Diplomats were among those nervously nibbling Philly cheese steak, creamy pumpkin pie, fried chicken and waffles, pulled pork pancakes, and apple pie.
Perhaps strangely juxtaposed were the giant cutouts of not just Biden and Trump, but also KISS members Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley, and Gene Simmons.
ROBERT KITCHEN / Things
Scott Brown pictured with Trump and Biden cutouts.
Brown said the likely wait for full results was something Americans were “used to,” having done the same in 2000 with George Bush and Al Gore. “[There is] certainly a long time. “
Brown said whoever won the presidency would likely not affect the relationship between New Zealand and the United States “at all.”
“I hope New Zealand continues to focus on China and make sure they follow the rules … when it comes to intellectual property, trade and a host of things, that’s my only area of concern at the moment.”
A new government was due to take office on Friday and it was up to him what his priorities were, he said.
ROBERT KITCHEN / Things
A map of the Electoral College at the Lulu Bar watch party.
“[We have] enduring and strong shared common values [that we have] I had done it since the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi and even before that with the whalers who used to come from my home state of Massachusetts who used to hunt and trade here.
“I’m happy people got out … I’m not really happy or sad, I’m really excited that the commitment at home is off the charts … The votes and voters have said: this is an election, let’s get involved. “
On the voter suppression allegations, Brown said: “Without disrespecting you, I don’t see it. Honestly, I think it’s a celebration of the voters. “
