As Election Night unfolded, the atmosphere at Vice President Kamala Harris’ watch party turned tense, with silence taking over as Donald Trump clinched the first major swing state.
Initially, upbeat music filled the venue as supporters watched CNN updates on jumbo screens, but sound was added only to announce Harris’ victories in Washington, Hawaii, and Virginia. Moments of celebration dimmed as analysts revealed a narrowing path for Harris, leaving her supporters visibly worried.
Harris’ campaign manager, Jen O’Malley Dillon, remained hopeful, reminding supporters that key states in the “blue wall”—Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan—could still pave a way to victory.point 180 | Yet, North Carolina, a state narrowly lost by Biden in the previous election, slipped away.point 257 |
O’Malley Dillon reassured staff with a memo emphasizing the extended timeline of the vote count and urged them to stay focused.point 109 | “What we do know is this race is not going to come into focus until the early morning hours,” she wrote.point 197 | 1
In Pennsylvania, the campaign highlighted promising turnout numbers in Philadelphia and Bucks County, areas expected to be Democratic strongholds. Similarly, in Michigan, they awaited outstanding counts from Detroit, and in Wisconsin, significant blue votes from Milwaukee and Dane counties were still pending. Harris’ team anticipated final Wisconsin results to come between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m., a critical period that would decide the night’s trajectory.
The campaign also noted Arizona and Nevada as potential boosts if counted favorably. “We’ve been saying for weeks that this race might not be called tonight,” O’Malley Dillon reminded her team, drawing a parallel to the drawn-out 2020 count. Her message was clear: patience and resilience were essential as every vote was counted, a process integral to the U.S. system.
As midnight approached, the energy at Harris’ gathering was a mix of anxious optimism and determination. All eyes were now on the battleground states, each vote adding suspense to a race yet to be decided. Only time would reveal if Harris could pull through the remaining obstacles and shift the momentum.