I traveled to Western Pennsylvania to welcome in Election Day on 11/9/16 for The New York Times. I worked on two stories with writer Trip Gabriel about how the people in Erie and Ambridge
felt about the election. Some were avid Trump supporters, others seemed to pick him as the "lesser of two evils," while a few remained undecided until they walked into their booths. Western Pennsylvania has suffered economically since many of its steel mills were closed. Donald Trump promised to restore mills to the area, giving hope and nostalgia to an area that feels as though it's hemorrhaging jobs with livable wages. Many voters felt as though they were voiceless, even rejecting the idea that their candidate had the chance of winning until the morning after the results came in. This is a collection of images from these two towns in the days preceding and following 11/9/16.