US Election night 2024 in Texas

So it’s true. After a long, bitter campaign battle between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump that saw divisive rhetoric, questions about the future of American democracy and two alleged assassination attempts, the latter – who is yet to be sentenced after being convicted as a felon in his hush money case – has overwhelmingly won the race to be the next President of the USA for a second term.

The result caught many by surprise, including pollsters who had put the pair neck and neck going into election night. A similar shock was felt at a Democrat watch party in Houston, Texas that Huck photographer Tom “TBow” Bowden travelled to on the evening of November 5. Early on, it was a packed affair, with a live band and local media crews in attendance anticipating a Kamala victory. But as exit polls and the first states began declaring, the mood shifted. “Well, I was a little optimistic,” a person at the event told him. “Now I’m a little scared.”

It was a wildly different scene at The 59 Hangout in Porter, Texas, around 20 miles north of Houston, where a pro-Trump viewing party had been organised. Set in a dive bar in the back of a strip centre, there was never a moment where the result was doubted. “They were partying, they were happy,” TBow recalls. “It’s funny, because the party got out of hand and the guys put on dresses.”

A Coors Light beer sign read: “Welcome to the United States Gender Reveal we hope it’s a Boy”.

“The election was called early, and what a shock. We thought that they were going to argue, go to court and it would go on for 10 days, but it was overwhelming,” TBow says. “A lot of people are waking up this morning and thinking: ‘What about our values, what about healthcare?’”

“Well,” one person at the Democratic watch party told TBow. “Whoever wins is going to change the world.”

Take a look at the photographs from each watch party below.