Vice President Kamala Harris’s waiting party quickly fell silent in the final hour of Election Day as former President Donald Trump captured the first swing state of the night.
Supporters gathered at Harris’ alma mater of Howard University in Washington DC looked increasingly despondent as votes for the Republican candidate poured in on the big screens.
And after Cedric Richmond, co-chair of her campaign, took the stage to tell Democrats that their presidential hopes would not speak, many seemed to give up on the matter altogether and go home.
A DJ had played party music loudly as Democrats watched silent CNN on jumbotron screens. The book appeared on television only to announce Harris’ victories: Washington, Hawaii and then Virginia.
The DJ’s playlist sounded again as John King returned to the screen to report how Harris’ path had narrowed. Some Harris supporters were seen hugging as a Trump victory looked increasingly certain.
The scenes were reenacted across the country at watch parties in the US – and even at a ‘Democrats Abroad’ rally in London, UK.
Vice President Kamala Harris’ supporters are reacting to election results that show the Democrat trailing former Republican President Donald Trump. Harris’ supporters were gathered at her alma mater, Howard University, in Washington, DC
A flag is left at Kamala Harris’ election party on Tuesday as she headed to defeat
Supporters of Vice President Kamala Harris sit in the courtyard of Howard University and watch as election results point to a possible victory for Donald Trump
A supporter of Kamala Harris cries as she watches the votes pour in for Donald Trump at an election party in San Francisco
Betting markets and The The New York Times election needle predicted a Trump victory, while Harris’ campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon claimed a path to victory was still possible through the “blue wall” of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin And Michigan.
But as midnight approached, North Carolina slipped away from Harris — a state that President Joe Biden narrowly lost to Trump — although the remaining six battleground states remained up for grabs.
“What we do know is that this race won’t be on screen until the early morning hours,” O’Malley Dillon wrote in a memo obtained by DailyMail.com. “This is what we were built for, so let’s finish what we have in front of us tonight, get some sleep and prepare to finish strong tomorrow.”
The Harris campaign said they outperformed turnout expectations in Pennsylvania in Pennsylvania — the night’s biggest prize — and in vote counting in Bucks County.
In Michigan, the Harris campaign said there were still outstanding votes from Detroit — a heavily blue area — and in Wisconsin, there were still outstanding votes to be counted in Dane and Milwaukee counties.
Wisconsin’s full results would not be available until Wednesday between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m., according to the campaign.
The campaign also pointed out that Arizona and Nevada could still give the Democrat a boost.
‘We have been saying for weeks that this race might not happen tonight. Those of you who were there in 2020 know this well: It takes time for all the votes to be counted – and all the votes will be counted,” O’Malley Dillon said.
‘That’s how our system works. What we do know is that this race will only be visible in the early morning hours.’
Despondent Democrats at a watch party in Atlanta, Georgia. Pollsters have predicted a second term as POTUS for Donald Trump
Vice President Kamala Harris took part in a phone bank at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington, DC, earlier Tuesday. She spent election night at her Naval Observatory residence
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A big difference between 2024 and 2020 is that fewer Democratic voters used mail-in ballots, and some states processed them more quickly.
Four years ago, this meant that Trump’s votes were often counted first — because his supporters voted in person — and Biden’s votes were counted last.
This year, it appears there are both Harris and Trump votes yet to be counted – so the Harris campaign can’t count on large numbers of outstanding votes to push her over the line.
At her pageant party, at her alma mater of Howard, the initial excitement in the air turned to fear.
A bright spot came when the jumbotron on University Square played the victory speech by Democrat Angela Alsobrooks, who won Maryland’s open Senate seat from the state’s former Republican governor, Larry Hogan.
As midnight approached, supporters began leaving campus as there was no sign of Harris addressing the crowd.
Harris remained at her Naval Observatory residence.