WASHINGTON, D.C. — As polls across the country began to close Tuesday night, thousands of Vice President Kamala Harris’ supporters gathered at Howard University in Washington.
But as the clock passed 11 p.m. ET and prognosticators started predicting a victory for Donald Trump, some Harris supporters at her Washington, D.C., watch party headed home.
Those who were still there after midnight emptied out after a campaign official announced Harris would not speak at her party.
Cedric Richmond, co-chair of the Harris campaign, said Harris would continue to watch the votes come in, and would return to Howard University tomorrow to address the nation.
While some at the party maintained hope that Harris can still win, others were less optimistic. But none expected a final result to come tonight.
“I’m anxious — not necessarily nervous,” said Paul Sadler, as he and Lane Eskridge walked out. “I’m still hopeful,” Eskridge added.
“It’s still possible (for Harris),” Sadler said. “There’s still time. There’s still a lot more votes that have got to come in from key battleground states.”
Another man, who identified himself as Ben, described his mood as “tired, exhausted, kind of frustrated,” as he exited. “But I still feel like Kamala may win.”
Others agreed. “It’s starting to get a little gloomy,” Malcolm Magee, a Washington resident, said as he headed home. “A little uneasy is the best description.”
Kelsey Moss, who headed toward the exit alongside Magee, noted she has work in the morning. “I’m uneasy, but optimistic,” she said. “We’ll be back tomorrow.”
Moss said she’ll head home to get sleep; Magee said he’ll turn on the TV to watch the results when he arrives. “I’ll probably have a little cocktail,” he said. “I don’t think I’ll sleep all that well.”
Early on at Harris’ party, crowd was excited
Early in the night, cell service was spotty, and the massive screens surrounding the Yard cut to CNN only infrequently to offer updates.
Instead, the crowd danced and sang. A live DJ blasted music, and Howard’s performing arts clubs performed. “I personally think it’s going to be a landslide, and we will get a result (tonight),” said Kerry Wilson, who voted in Maryland last week.
Harris is not expected to make an appearance until late tonight, when she will either declare victory, concede or — as President Joe Biden did in 2020, when the race was too close to call — remind voters “it ain’t over until every vote is counted.”
In the final hours before polls closed across the country, Harris spent her afternoon making a final pitch to voters on the radio waves. She called into radio shows from Philadelphia and Raleigh to Phoenix and Las Vegas, giving a final encouragement for voters to get to the polls.
“During the day, I’ll be — today, all day — talking with folks and reminding them to get out to vote,” Harris told the “Big K Morning Show” in Pittsburgh on Tuesday morning.
By midday Tuesday, Harris’ campaign said she had also logged appearances on Power 99 in Philadelphia, “The Big Tigger Morning Show” in Atlanta and Foxy 107.2 in Raleigh, North Carolina. Later in the day, she called into shows in battlegrounds Arizona, Nevada and Wisconsin.
During her Pittsburgh radio hit, Harris said she’ll eat dinner with her family — a “tradition,” she said — before heading to Howard University in Washington, where her campaign is hosting tonight’s watch party.
Due to how close the polls are, results weren’t expected on election night. Polls showed razor-thin margins in several battleground states. Nate Silver’s election forecast ran 80,000 simulations in the early hours of Election Day; Harris won in 50.015% of the cases. FiveThirtyEight’s polling aggregator shows Trump ahead in three swing states, Harris ahead in two and a tie in two — and the margin is not larger than 2 percentage points in any of them.
Over 78 million Americans cast votes before Election Day, and 35% of them were Republicans — marking a significant increase in GOP early voting compared to past cycles.
On Tuesday afternoon, Harris’ supporters expressed confidence she would outperform the polls. “I feel good,” said Mark Gilbert, a former U.S. ambassador and Harris donor. “Early reporting states will let us know a lot. I believe (Harris) wins most if not all of the swing states — and outperforms everywhere else.”
At Howard, where some attendees began lining up early on Tuesday, metal fencing surrounds the perimeter and a significant police presence is on hand. The university’s classes were held remotely on Monday; on Tuesday, all classes were canceled.
By Tuesday evening, when the campus’ central Yard filled with campaign supporters, volunteers and staff, attendees said they felt hopeful about Harris’ chances.
“We’re all, obviously, anxious and we’re nervous, but we’re excited for her,” said James Thompson, a Washington resident. “Let’s just say we’re hoping Vice President Harris will be the next president of the United States.”
Kayla Hill-Jones, a graduate of Howard’s law school, said Harris’ ascendance atop the Democratic ticket brought “a new energy” to the party.
“Honestly, when Biden was running, I wasn’t as excited and didn’t have as much energy behind the Democratic Party,” Hill-Jones said. “Seeing the shift and seeing her be like authentically herself, even in the realm of politics, I think is very inspiring.”