JEFFERSON COUNTY, Texas — In Southeast Texas, the heads of both parties spoke about the 2020 election outcome.
For the last four days, people have waited anxiously to see who will be the next elected president. Now that the answer is revealed, there is mixed emotion to the news.
Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Arizona and Georgia are the four states that had Americans glued to their phones and televisions as election results came in day-by-day.
But both the anxious waiting and the election race came to an end Saturday morning.
Democratic candidate Joe Biden surpassed the 270 electoral votes to take a seat in the White House.
Here in Southeast Texas, Jefferson County Democratic Party chairman Joseph Trahan said he is elated with the outcome of the race.
"I'm so happy to know that the American people have decided to go in a different direction than what we've been doing in the last four years," he said.
On the opposite side, Republican chair Judy Nichols reflected on President Trump's past four years in office.
In a statement she released to 12News, she said, "President Trump allowed the working man and woman to have a voice against the deep state."
Trahan said he looks forward to Biden's presidential term.
"I see him running one that is going to go towards rebuilding the economy that has been so devastated about the coronavirus pandemic," he said.
Nichols said she thinks Biden will bring a new type of strength to the Republican Party.
"Biden's election will only make our party stronger, as we saw our party grow with President Trump's victory here in Jefferson County," she said.
Trahan said the American people need this reminder.
"Every single vote counts, and we should all be proud of the fact that we have a constitutionally protected right to participate in our government," she said.
It's still 10 weeks out from Biden officially taking office, but already his team said they are putting together a plan to tackle the pandemic when he becomes president.