There was just a smattering of locals gathered at the Emerson Bar in Reno as election results started pouring in, into the night on Election Day.
Some faced the big projector, which shone bright with red and blue. The voices of CNN reporters John King and Pamela Brown rang throughout the room, but were mostly drowned out by the sound of chatter.
Those seated at the bar with their backs to the big screen shot nervous glances behind them every once and a while.
Peter Barnato was seated at the bar but turned towards the project screen. He told me that he had come here for past elections, wanting to be amongst friends and community.
“It’s not as much what’s at stake for me, it’s what’s at stake for my friends and my community,” he said, referring to his LGBTQ+ circles.
As the night went on, the screen showed more and more red. And the patrons of the Emerson, an establishment catering to Reno’s queer community, seemed to grow a bit more quiet.
Taylor Cerny walked in with a friend, and the two made their way to a little nook with no view of the projector screen. They were just here for the quesadillas and some chatting, they told me. But there was no escaping the CNN anchors that filled the room.
“What’s at stake for me is the right to bodily autonomy, and my rights as a queer person,” Cerny said.
Geeve Iverson sat right in front of the projector, but chose to focus his energy on painting ceramics with his friend and his niece, Leilani. He said he needed something else to focus on than just watching the results coming in.
“I am fearful of what will happen with the Afforadable Care Act. I have a 26-year-old sister and I’m fearful of what will happen if she needs an emergency abortion,” Iverson said.
At around 8:50 P.M., the ramblings of CNN were muted and replaced with upbeat music. The chatter increased and the glasses started clinking.
In 2020, there was initially what was called an early red mirage in the results for former Republican President Donald Trump, before he was defeated by President Joe Biden.
Around 9 P.M. with North Carolina going into Trump's column, the path to victory for Vice President Democratic nominee Kamala Harris was getting narrower but still possible.
In Washoe County, a swing county in the battleground state of Nevada, long lines at UNR led to vote counting starting later than expected.