In the end, the expected squeaker of an election proved a decisive victory for hotelier-turned-politician Donald Trump, returning a businessperson to the nation’s highest office and leaving restaurateurs wondering what the selection of a notorious enemy of regulation would mean for the business.
The Republican’s victory was assured early this morning when Wisconsin’s 10 electoral votes were awarded to Trump, giving him the 270 he needed to beat Kamala Harris. The ballots of five states have yet to be tallied, but the former president’s triumphant showing in at least four so-called battlegrounds assures him an official win.
The preliminary results also show Republicans regaining control of the U.S. Senate. It remains unclear if the GOP held onto its majority in the House of Representatives, but the party was leading by 20 seats.
Way before the race was called for Trump, restaurateurs already knew the fate of several ballot initiatives with particular significance for the industry.
A ballot proposal to phase out Massachusetts’ tip credit was resoundingly defeated, 64% to 36%.
But the public rejected an effort by Arizona’s restaurant industry to preserve the state’s tip credit in perpetuity through a constitutional amendment. Voters killed the measure by a 3 to 1 margin.
A comfortable majority of Missouri residents (57.6%) voted to raise the Show Me State’s minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2026. The same proposal also requires employers to offer paid sick leave.
Votes on a proposal to raise California’s minimum wage to $18 an hour are still being counted, with the yea’s narrowly outnumbering the nays, 51% to 49% in preliminary tabulations. The rate would have given the nation’s largest restaurant market the highest across-the-board pay floor in the nation, though most of its fast-food workers have been earning at least $20 an hour since April 1.
The election caps what has been one of the most fractious and unusual presidential races in U.S. history. Right up to the time polls closed, the outcome was uncertain.
Even Trump expressed surprise. “Look at what happened. Is this crazy?” he remarked while greeting supporters after the race was called.
In true Trumpian style, the winning candidate didn’t hold back in assessing his victory. Trump called the voting “a movement nobody has seen before--frankly, the greatest political movement of all time.”
Harris, who had won 224 electoral votes at the time Trump was pushed over the 270-vote threshold, has yet to concede defeat. Hours after the polls closed and the results remained uncertain, the current U.S. vice president encouraged her supporters to head home and get some sleep.
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