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. 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.