NEW YORK CITY — Donald Trump's victory was a shock for the city's Republicans too.
"He already surprised a lot of people and I think he's going to surprise a lot more people by what he accomplishes in his first 100 days," said John Antoniello, the chairman of the Republican Party of Staten Island where 95,612 people, or 57 percent of voters, supported the candidate.
Though Democrat Hillary Clinton earned the majority of the city's vote Tuesday, 461,174 New Yorkers — or just more than 18 percent of voters in the five boroughs — cast their ballots for Trump, election results show.
In Queens, 138,550 people, or just over 22 percent of voters, cast their ballots for Trump on Tuesday.
Middle Village Republican Club president and writer for the conservative website RedAlertPolitics.com Ryan Girdusky said he was "so happy" to see his candidate win.
"I've supported Trump since the day he announced," he said.
He was drawn to the president-elect for his views on immigration, the economy and job creation, but his support was often met with backlash from other New Yorkers — including fellow Republicans, Girdusky said.
"I was ridiculed for it, I was mocked for it, I lost friends over it,” the 29-year-old said.
But he pointed to pockets of Queens where he felt Republican support was strong throughout the campaign.
"Go to Rockaway, go to Howard Beach, go to Middle Village, go to Maspeth, the working class areas," he said.
"There's Trump flags, there's Trump signs — I have never seen a Hillary lawn sign. Every block where I live is Trump, Trump, Trump."
Staten Island City Councilman Joe Borelli, a Trump supporter who worked on the campaign, called the win "unbelievable."
"I had a lot of hope and it seems like some of my instincts panned out," he said.
"It's the highest possibility that we should instill on the union. We should really pray that he should do a good job."
Trump support waned in the rest of the boroughs, with 10 percent of votes going to the Republican in Manhattan, 17.9 percent in Brooklyn and 9.6 percent of votes in The Bronx.
The former reality-star's surprise win is a message from voters who think the country is headed in the wrong direction, said Antoniello, the first party chairman in the city who gave him support.
"I think the people have woken up and realized that we're going on the wrong path and they wanted a change," he said.
"They wanted somebody outside, who wasn’t a politician, and they chose Trump."
Grzegorz Fryc, a Ridgewood resident and head of Pangea Network USA, an organization representing young Polish professionals, said he and many other Polish Americans voted for Trump.
"He was the only candidate that met with Polish Americans and he acknowledged our great history and traditions, while Clinton criticized the new government in Poland," said Fryc, 37.
"I knew Trump was going to win.
"Even in New York, many people were afraid to say that they support Trump because it was not cool. But when you spoke to them privately, they said that they were going to vote for him.”