Anxiety, then pain at Kamala Harris camp
WASHINGTON—What was hoped to be a victory lap for Vice President Kamala Harris at her alma mater on Election Day turned into a night of anxiety for her supporters, as they watched former President Donald Trump block her path, state by state, to the White House.
In the end, the hundreds of supporters who gathered at Howard University—which served as Harris’ standby headquarters—didn’t get to see the Democratic Party candidate, as a senior member of her team informed them she would not be giving a speech that night.
Around 3 a.m. Eastern Standard Time, the Associated Press projected a Trump victory after he won Pennsylvania, giving him 267 electoral votes, three shy of what he needed for a comeback to the White House.
Hours earlier, Harris’ campaign had tried to keep a brave face.
“We still have votes to count; we still have states that have not been called yet,” Cedric Richmond, cochair of the vice president’s campaign, announced at 12:40 a.m., shortly after she lost the first two battleground states North Carolina and Georgia. “We will continue to fight to make sure that every vote is counted.”
Symbolic venue
The historically Black 157-year-old university was supposed to be a symbolic venue as its alumna looked to be the first Black woman to rise as president of the United States.
Howard’s president, Ben Vinson III, said it was the first time in modern history that a college campus hosted a presidential election watch party. “We are honored that she (Harris) has chosen Howard as the place to potentially make history again.”
Harris, a member of the Howard chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha, the country’s first Black sorority, often cited her time at the university for shaping her political identity.
Among the attendees on Tuesday night were women clad in the organization’s signature salmon pink and apple green colors. The mood at the election party held at a large space called The Yard had been festive at first, with bands and choirs taking turns entertaining the crowd.
Harris’ supporters turned to giant screens that flashed CNN projections of poll results, cheering at every state called in favor of the Democratic ticket and booing at those called for the Republican candidate.
Howard students and alumni said they were proud to have Harris, the first African American vice president in US history, represent them on the global stage.
“All that she has done with President Biden, whether it’s supporting reproductive justice, supporting businesses, and wanting America to turn the next page for the better, it was really something,” said student Chris Firch, 20.
‘A strong woman’
Marketing associate Pamela Bundy, 46, said she “came here to witness probably one of the most historic moments ever in any African American female’s life.”
Another supporter, David Jordan, 71, said he had cast his ballot for Harris because he was “concerned for our generation ahead, our nieces and nephews… I’m looking forward to a progressive future for them.”
“I voted for a strong woman, and I’m hoping the rest of us voted for her, too,” he said.
CNN’s Jake Tapper’s early night announcements had appeared to favor Harris, including an early lead in critical swing state Pennsylvania.
But people grew increasingly anxious once Georgia and Iowa—which were called by prominent pollster Ann Selzer for Harris before the election—swung Red.
By 11 p.m., the mood had darkened considerably.
Harris’ path to victory narrowed as the so-called Blue Wall of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin turned Red on the map.
Around that time, reporters, including the Inquirer, spotted former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi—who herself won her district in California in this race—entering one of the buildings but not addressing the crowd.
Twenty-year-old Chyanna Antonio said she was not nervous: “I feel like this is typically how it goes, so we just gotta wait and see how it ends up. But I think she’s gonna pull through.”
But when CNN’s Tapper called North Carolina for Trump at around 11:30 p.m., groans echoed through the crowd.
Two hours later, a triumphant Trump emerged from seclusion to address his supporters at Mar-A-Lago in Florida, claiming a “political victory our country has never seen before.”
