Worry, hope, determination; Vashon residents and leaders expressed a mixed bag of emotions last week in the aftermath of a weighty election for the island, state and country.

The results show a massive win for Republicans nationally, who have reclaimed the presidency, flipped the Senate and retained control of the House to gain a trifecta at the federal level. But bucking a national trend toward Republican gains was Washington, a state in which voters largely doubled-down on Democrat candidates and policies.

On Vashon, for instance, the island’s incumbent 34th legislative district state Democrat representatives sailed to re-election. Emily Alvarado and Joe Fitzgibbon, whose district includes Vashon, West Seattle, White Center and west Burien, defeated Republican challengers Kimberly Cloud and Jolie Lansdowne, respectively.

Alvarado had earned about 85% of the vote in returns as of Nov. 8. Fitzgibbon had a similar margin — carrying about 83.8% of the vote.

Washington voters also elected Democrats across the state executive branch, including governor-elect Bob Ferguson, and kept the Democrats firmly in control of the state legislature.

And voters rejected three of the four citizen’s initiatives on the ballot aimed at rolling back Democrat policy wins: I-2108, to repeal the capital gains excise tax; I-2117, to repeal provisions of the Climate Commitment Act; and I-2124, to allow individuals to opt out of the new WA Cares program.

I-2066, which prohibits governments from restricting access to natural gas and requires utilities to provide it to customers, has narrowly passed.

Local reactions reflected this mixed bag of local progressive policy wins amidst a commanding Republican federal victory.

”Islanders for Ferry Action (IFA) is thrilled that Washington defeated Initiative 2117,” IFA director Amy Drayer said in an email. “The funding … realized through the climate commitment act is vital to helping restore the Washington State Ferries (WSF) fleet … We’re also optimistic about governor-elect Ferguson’s plans to address the crisis at WSF.”

But the results of the national election, Drayer said, make her worry for her friends and family who live in parts of the U.S. “where many fundamental human rights aren’t protected.”

“My wife and I are lucky to live in a state that will continue to recognize our marriage regardless of what happens at the federal level,” Drayer said. “On a personal level, I have a preexisting medical condition. With the Affordable Care Act (ACA) under threat, I’m worried about my continued access to healthcare. On a larger scale, I worry what unchecked protectionist policies and the dismantling of critical federal agencies will do to our economy and our safety long term.”

Orca Annie Stateler, an Indigenous marine naturalist and founder of the Vashon Hydrophone Project, said she worries for people of color and members of the LGBTQ community in the months and years to come.

“‘I’m terrified for what’s going to happen with every historically marginalized group in this country,” Stateler said. “We feel like we’re looking into the abyss.”

So too does she worry for the southern resident killer whales — the orcas of this region whose survival already stands on a knife’s edge — under the Trump administration.

Project 2025, a conservative policy blueprint, calls for breaking up the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration, a government body which, among its other responsibilities, researches and takes action on killer whale recovery. And Stateler doubts that the Trump administration will lend any federal help toward removing four dams on the Snake River, which have long been targeted as obstacles to improving the population of the resident killer whales’ favorite food: salmon.

“Is this just going to become a gilded age, greedy, grab-all free-for-all for corporate interests and rich people and oligarchs?” she wondered.

Still, she said: “I am extremely proud of true blue Washington.”

Vashon’s state Senator Joe Nguyen echoed that sentiment.

“We crushed it locally,” he said. “We didn’t just run the tables, we gained ground.”

The failure of I-2117, which would have repealed the Climate Commitment Act (CCA), is a mandate on climate change action, Nguyen said. (The state made the CCA key to its plan for funding new ferries.)

For island communities like Vashon, he said, the initiative’s failure means: “You will get five boats.”

“I know we’re not going fast enough,” he said, “but there will be better service. There will be more maritime workers … to help us staff those boats as well.”

Nguyen attributed the state’s leftward push to better messaging by state Democrats — especially around policy moves which the initiatives sought to roll back. In the midst of a national reckoning for the Democrat party, Washington State “is going to be the model” for how the party talks to voters, Nguyen predicted.

Trump’s re-election means the state is likely to receive less federal funding and will suffer from tariff policies, he said.

But this time around, Nguyen said: “We have a battle-tested legislature, a governor-elect who is probably the most experienced at pushing back against Trump, and an attorney general most qualified to be in that spot. In terms of Washington, this is the Avengers of the Democratic Party who are now in place.”

As for the re-election of his colleagues Alvarado and Fitzgibbon, Nguyen said the 34th district has “one of the best, if not the best delegations in Washington State.”

“I’m very thankful to have seatmates who are so brilliant, who work so hard, are so in touch with their communities and have such conviction in their values,” Nguyen said.

During Trump’s first term, Vashon-based progressive art and activism group Backbone Campaign protested his presidency with stunts from the mundane to street theatre of a giant-headed Trump being sent to prison.

With Trump returning to the White House, their approach has evolved, said Bill Moyer, executive director of the Backbone Campaign. (Moyer cautioned that Backbone, as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, does not endorse political candidates or initiatives.)

“We engaged in a variety of protest that included a lot of ridicule, but ridicule really only works if your target has a sense of shame,” Moyer said. “All that really did for Donald Trump is keep him in the news and on people’s minds.”

Backbone will continue to advocate for progressive causes and diversity, Moyer said, but in a spirit focused on reconnecting Americans and reducing the “toxic divisiveness” and dangerous rhetoric in the country’s politics.

“I think the role of Backbone at this point is as a community animator … and to reinforce people’s connections to place and each other,” he said.

One of Backbone’s causes, for instance, is “solutionary rail” — a campaign to use renewable energy and electrified rail lines to reduce pollution, climate change and transportation challenges. Moyer sees it as an opportunity for Americans to create ambitious, “common cause” progress for the country.

“I think it’s not too late to appeal to the best in people rather than the worst in them, and to bypass the political parties to build a populist movement … [for] people who have been left behind by 45 years of neoliberal policies,” he said. “The idea that we could somehow win people’s hearts and minds by calling them stupid racists, it’s just crazy. There’s no way that was ever going to work.”

Still, he cautioned: “There are people who are especially vulnerable right now who deserve our solidarity and support and protection, such as the immigrant community and the trans community.”

And Backbone isn’t done demanding change or boldly protesting, he said: “Sometimes it’s important to say no really loudly and effectively.”

Islander Kevin Jones, the founder and a leadership team member of Indivisible Vashon and a leadership team member of the Vashon Climate Action Group, said progressives must now come together locally and nationally.

“I know that on Jan. 13, our state legislature will convene, and we have work to do on criminal justice reform, education, the climate, gun safety, healthcare, housing, social justice, and all the issues that matter to us,” he said.

Final precinct level election results will be released by Nov. 27; The Beachcomber will dig deeper into how the island voted at that time.