Vice President Kamala Harris’ watch 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 who gathered at Harris’ alma mater of Howard University in Washington, DC looked increasingly despondent as votes for the Republican candidate racked up on big screens.
And after her campaign co-chair Cedric Richmond took to the stage to tell Democrats their Presidential hopeful would not be speaking, many appeared to give up on the cause altogether and went home.
A DJ had loudly played party music as Democrats watched a soundless CNN on jumbotron screens. The volume only came on the TVs to announce Harris’ wins – Washington, Hawaii and then Virginia.
The DJ’s playlist would pound again when John King came back on-screen to report how Harris’ path had narrowed. Some of Harris supporters were spotted hugging, as a Trump win looked more and more certain.
The scenes were replicated across the country at watch parties across the US – and even at a ‘Democrats Abroad’ gathering in London, UK.
Vice President Kamala Harris’ supporters react to election returns that show the Democrat falling behind former Republican President Donald Trump. Harris’ supporters were gathered at her alma mater, Howard University, in Washington, D.C.
A flag is left at Kamala Harris’ election night party on Tuesday as she headed for defeat
Democrats look increasingly despondent as votes are counted during the Washington, DC watch party
Supporters gathered at Howard University for the Kamala Harris watch party (left) and after it was announced that she would not speak at the event (right)
Kamala Harris supporters began leaving the Howard University watch party in droves after her campaign co-chair announced that she would not speak at the event
Supporters of Vice President Kamala Harris sit down in Howard University’s quad and watch as election results point to a potential Donald Trump win
Betting markets and The New York Times’ election needle predicted a Trump win, as Harris’ campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon pushed that 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 President Joe Biden narrowly lost to Trump.
And as supporters poured out of the Howard University watch party, the Republican candidate was predicted to claim Georgia too.
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‘What we do know is this race is not going to come into focus until the early morning hours,’ O’Malley Dillon wrote in a memo, obtained by DailyMail.com.
‘This is what we’ve been built for, so let’s finish up what we have in front of us tonight, get some sleep, and get ready to close out strong tomorrow.’
The Harris campaign said that in Pennsylvania – the night’s biggest prize – they overperformed turnout expectations in Philadelphia and in the early vote count in Bucks County.
In Michigan, the Harris campaign said there were still outstanding votes from Detroit – a heavily blue area – and in Wisconsin there was still outstanding votes to be counted in Dane and Milwaukee counties.
Complete results from Wisconsin, the campaign said, wouldn’t be available until between 3am and 5am Wednesday.
The campaign also pointed out that Arizona and Nevada could still provide the Democrat with a boost.
‘We’ve been saying for weeks that this race might not be called tonight. 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,’ O’Malley Dillon said.
‘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.’
A Kamala Harris supporter tears up as she watches votes roll in for Donald Trump at an election party in San Francisco
Despondent Democrats at a watch party in Atlanta, Georgia. Pollsters have predicted a second term as POTUS for Donald Trump
A grim mood at a venue hosting a watch party for Democrats living abroad in London, UK
Vice President Kamala Harris took part in a phone bank earlier Tuesday at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington, D.C. She spent Election Night at her Naval Observatory residence
A big difference between 2024 and 2020 is that fewer voters who leaned Democratic used mail-in ballots, and some states processed them faster.
Four years ago, that meant Trump votes were often counted first - as his supporters voted in-person - and Biden votes were counted last.
This year it looks like there are both Harris and Trump votes that still need to be counted - so the Harris campaign can't count on large batches of outstanding votes that will put her over the line.
At her election night party, at her alma mater of Howard, the early excitement in the air turned to dread.
One bright spot was when the jumbotron in the university quad played the victory speech of Democrat Angela Alsobrooks, who won Maryland's open Senate seat over the state's former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan.
As midnight approached, supporters started leaving campus, as there was no sign that Harris would address the audience.
Harris remained at her Naval Observatory residence.