Kamala Harris opted not to address her supporters in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday night after former President Donald Trump secured wins in Georgia and North Carolina, the first two battleground states in the 2024 race, according to NBC News.
Disappointed supporters at a rally at Howard University heard from Harris campaign co-chair Cedric Richmond, who announced that Harris would not speak on election night. “We still have votes to count. We still have states that have not been called,” Richmond said. “You will hear from her tomorrow.”
Initially, Harris’ campaign officials had been optimistic about her chances, but their confidence appeared to waver as the night wore on and results came in. “It’s pretty concerning,” a Democratic lawmaker told NBC News. “I just keep reminding myself that eight years ago, all the trends in the first few hours showed Hillary winning, but then she didn’t. But obviously, this is not the return we were looking for.”
Harris’ campaign manager, Jennifer O’Malley Dillon, reassured campaign staff and supporters of a potential path to victory, stating, “While we continue to see data trickle in from the Sun Belt states, we have known all along that our clearest path to 270 electoral votes lies through the Blue Wall states,” referencing Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, according to NBC News.
She added, “Those of you who were around in 2020 know this well: It takes time for all the votes to be counted — and all the votes will be counted. That’s how our system works. What we do know is this race is not going to come into focus until the early morning hours.”
NBC News also reported that Republicans were positioned to reclaim the Senate, with victories in Democratic-held seats in West Virginia and Ohio. According to an NBC exit poll, the proportion of voters identifying as Democrats had dropped to 32% — marking the lowest point this century.
Alongside the presidential race, control of the House remained uncertain. With narrow margins in the chamber, close West Coast races, and potentially slow vote counts, a clear outcome will take additional time.
At the time of this writing Harris has 194 electoral votes and Trump has 246. There are still five battleground states to be called.
