Sami Edge | Freelance reporter
Matt Scotton, sophomore journalism student and Republican at the University of Oregon, is well aware of his political minority status in Oregon. At the election watch party in the Fishbowl Tuesday night he found himself in an environment characteristic of the political atmosphere he has found typical in Oregon. Predominantly liberal – and proud of it.
“It seems like [republicans] are few and far between,” Scotton said. “All the people I came with are more liberal minded. It’s just part of the culture that you get used to.”
However, Scotton doesn’t let the political atmosphere intimidate him.
“I don’t feel alienated,” Scotton said. “It’s good to have people with different views around you to challenge your views and make you think about something in a different way.”
The evening started out with Scotton and his liberal friend group bantering playfully. When results began to appear, small talk quickly turned to technical explanations and political implications. Around 8 p.m., as electoral predictions for Iowa, New Mexico and other swing states were released in Obama’s favor, the EMU Fishbowl went up in cheers. Scotton merely shrugged his shoulders.
“It is a projection, you have to remember, but most of the time they’re right,” Scotton said. “I still think that Romney will win the popular vote, but Obama will win the election. But we’ll see.”
The projections continued, and despite the eardrum rattling cheers of his political competitors as key battleground states turned blue, Scotton kept a smile.
“I mean right now their projection is that Obama won. Whenever they announce a Democratic state everybody claps and it’s really loud and everything. But there’s probably someone else in here that’s conservative. “
When CNN projected that Obama would win the presidency, Scotton took a moment to interpret the screen in front of him.
“Usually the incumbent wins, so I was expecting Obama to win coming in. I mean I’m a little bit disappointed. I wanted Mitt Romney to win because I agreed with more of his policies coming in. I don’t think it’s the end of the world though,” Scotton said.
After the initial cheering at Obama’s projected re-election settled down, Scotton’s friends turned to offer him some consolation. They reminded him that he is brave for sticking to his conservative views – a daunting task for a red Duck, in a sea of blue.