The Black Sheep bar in downtown Providence was brimming with 40 or so young voters on Sept. 10, many of them wearing blue “I voted” stickers on their lapels and shirt collars. They were there to watch the presidential debate, pitting Vice President Kamala Harris against former President Donald Trump, at The Young Democrats of Rhode Island’s watch party.
In the minutes before the event, some people said they were feeling on edge, not just for the debate but also for the local elections that day. Several members of the Rhode Island branch of the Working Families Party sat in dark corners, laptop screens illuminating their faces as they intently monitored and discussed local primary outcomes.
But as the debate kicked off, the buzz of conversations came to a halt.
“I was a little nervous when Biden dropped out, but my fears are gone,” Henry Siravo, an 18-year-old member of the Young Democrats of Rhode Island, said during a break in the action. “I’m excited. ‘We’re not going back.’”
Democratic State Sen. Tiara Mack of Providence was also at the watch party. She said she was disappointed to hear Harris reaffirm her pledge to continue to arm Israel, but felt that her responses on related issues were at least “human-centered.”
This story was reported by The Public's Radio. You can read the entire story here.
