Here we are. Election Day, at last.

Columnists being what they are, I’ve got some predictions.

Vice President Kamala Harris will win Pennsylvania, thanks to massive turnout around Philadelphia and Maryland Democrats who crossed the state line to register and motivate voters. Midwest blue-wall states will hold, and she’ll pick up one or more of the Sun Belt states.

Former President Donald Trump will not concede.

Angela Alsobrooks, the Prince George’s County executive, will ride enthusiasm for Harris to victory over former Gov. Larry Hogan in the closely watched U.S. Senate race. She’ll be powered by Democrats’ understanding that sending a good Republican to Washington might not be wise right now.

Hogan will win his home county of Anne Arundel, though not by enough to make it the bellwether of his two triumphs for governor. He will graciously concede Tuesday night or Wednesday.

That will be his victory — and an example for the nation.

Contests for two of the three open congressional seats in Maryland will go as predicted, with state Sen. Sarah Elfreth winning in the 3rd District and Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. in the 2nd. Democrat April McClain-Delaney will take the 6th, thanks to Harris’ long coattails, but also because voters rejected Republican Neil Parrott twice before.

Three times a loser, he won’t be statesmanlike about it.

The ballot question on adding reproductive rights to the state constitution will win, but Question F, allowing for private redevelopment of Harborplace at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, will not. Both sitting judges in Anne Arundel County will be retained, and two of the three radical Republicans seeking seats on that county’s school board will fall short.

Chuck Yocum, the former school system employee with a history of sexual abuse allegations and denials, will play the victim no matter the outcome.

The problem with predictions, of course, is that they’re built on a careful reading of the news, polls and people. Then you use gut feelings to make a leap.

That makes forecasting prone to seeing what you want to see. My predictions are based on my internal algorithms more than those of Google, Elon Musk on X and who-knows-who on TikTok. They remain a leap.

The Banner still has that new-car smell, so I’m not surprised readers asked me if we’ll endorse anyone in this year’s elections. As a nonprofit, we cannot.

I disagree with Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos, however. He explained his decision to withhold his newspaper’s endorsement of Harris by blaming lack of trust in the news media. Instead, you build trust with convincing ideas.

The news values surrounding me at The Banner reflect the communities we cover. That’s also how a good news organization builds trust. Sometimes our job is to challenge those values, but day in and day out, we hold the same things dear that most Marylanders do.

Truth. Fairness. Justice. Compassion.

A desire to live our lives with dignity, and see that others share the opportunities that benefit the most successful among us.

The other thing about predictions is that they can be wrong. Often are.

Maryland will go for Harris. Trump could take Pennsylvania, a win that would cascade across the electoral map. It would return him to the White House as he awaits sentencing for fraud and trial on other criminal charges.

Even if you only consider the Republican candidate’s words and those of his most visible supporters, the consequences are difficult to imagine without dread.

From a Trumpian “enemies list” to RFK Jr.’s fixation on removing fluoride from drinking water, from a purge of immigrants to a wall of tariffs coming down on the economy, there are lots of frightful ideas. Add the hard-right vision of government prepared by Trump backers in Project 2025, and America would change beyond recognition

What happens next?

Over the past year, I’ve gone from bullish on President Joe Biden to fearful that Trump was headed to an irresistible return to power. I’ve gone from enthusiastic about Harris, to worried that Trump would leverage two assassination attempts to achieve victory.

I’ve been worried about inflation and delighted by gas under $3 a gallon.

Now, I’m wondering about shy voters for Harris, and a political movement characterized as fascist holding a rally at Madison Square Garden that evoked one held there by American Nazis in 1939. This election has given birth to a new maxim: Don’t mess with Puerto Rico.

Trump and his followers will challenge the results, just as he did after Biden beat him in 2020. If Harris loses by a close margin, she might issue a challenge, too. Either way, the election seems sure to enter the courts.

Tales of fraudulent elections, despite no evidence of widespread fraud, are MAGA followers’ daily bread. Everyone else worries about a partisan U.S. Supreme Court deciding the results on partisan grounds.

Fears about the insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington, D.C., are bubbling beneath all this. Could it happen again, violence to block Harris — or Trump, given the assassination attempts — from taking office?

I’m a privileged person. I’m white, male and college-educated. I’m a journalist watching history unfold on the days I’m smart enough to spot it. I live in arguably the nicest town on the Chesapeake Bay.

In the past, local elections had far more impact on my life than national ones. This time, I don’t think that’s true.

Perhaps the most effective thing Vice President Harris said in her unexpected campaign was to ask whether Americans have had enough.

Enough of division. Vitriol. Distrust. Of having the former president constantly in our ear, spouting grievances and saying the most awful things about everyone in his way.

And when Donald Trump says them, he encourages others to voice things best left unsaid.

I’m exhausted. I’m tired of this election cycle in ways that I haven’t been in any of the others I’ve covered. I’m ready to move on from this era of division. I hope you are, too.

Good luck today. Go vote.

When the results become clear in a day or a week, here’s hoping it’s the rise of something better for this country and not a descent into a darker, divided America.