SOUTHEASTERN N.C. — Twelve hours after Donald Trump gave a victory speech in Florida, his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, officially conceded the 2024 presidential election.
READ MORE: Trump gives victory speech, amid projected win as 47th president
She addressed the crowd in front of Howard University — the historically Black college, from where she graduated in 1986.
“While I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign,” Harris said. “The fight for freedom, opportunity, fairness and dignity of all people.”
Harris’ camp turned in Tuesday evening around midnight after polls indicated heavy Trump support. He was taking more electoral votes — particularly in swing states North Carolina and Georgia — as well as leading the popular vote.
Trump has received 292 electoral college votes to Harris’ 224, with only 270 needed to secure the 47th presidency. He is up currently by almost 5 million voters in the popular count.
Vice President Harris told the crowd she called Trump earlier Wednesday to congratulate him on the win and said she would work with President Biden to ensure “peaceful transfer of power.” Biden also is reported to have called both candidates to congratulate them on their campaigns and offered to meet with Trump ahead of him taking back the White House.
“A fundamental principle of American democracy is that when we lose an election, we accept the results,” Harris said. “That principle, as much as any other, distinguishes democracy from monarchy or tyranny, and anyone who seeks the public trust must honor it.”
Harris’ remarks were a stark reminder against Trump’s exit from the White House in 2020. On Jan. 6, 2021, a mob of protesters ravaged the Capitol building as Congress was certifying the election results, which Trump repeatedly called stolen and rife with fraud. The protests disrupted the count and resulted in 174 injuries to police, five of whom died on Jan. 6 or in the days and weeks immediately after.
VP Harris used her 12 minutes Wednesday evening to encourage young voters and supporters otherwise to keep doing the “hard work,” standing up for what’s right and just, despite the ending of her campaign — one she said she was proud to have launched. Harris pointed out multiple issues that deserved attention still, including the fight for women’s rights and reproductive health and gun violence in schools, as well as upholding democracy, the rule of law and order and equal justice.
“Hard work is good work, hard work can be joyful work,” she said. “And the fight for our country is always worth it. … This is not a time to throw up our hands, it’s a time to roll up our sleeves.”
She encouraged her supporters to continue to wage their wants and expectations in the voting booth, but also in the public square and in quieter ways. She encouraged everyday interactions to be conducted with civility over divisiveness, and suggested using strength to lift people up with dignity, something of which everyone deserves.
Harris was the attorney general for the state of California before becoming a U.S. senator in the mid to late 2010s. She attempted to run for president in 2019 but dropped out of the race; once Biden became the presidential nominee, he tapped Harris as his VP running mate.
Though the national Democratic Party endorsed Biden to seek a second presidential term in the 2024 election, after a disastrous debate against Trump in June, Biden was pressured to step down. His delegates were transferred to Harris — a controversial move among some critics — who then had 100 days to launch a presidential campaign against Trump. In recent months, after choosing her VP candidate Tim Walz, the two rallied across states and cities nationwide, criss-crossing the U.S. multiple times over, while also taking on debates and some media interviews.
Multiple polls leading up to the election had Harris and Trump neck-and-neck, often scaling polls by 1 to 3 percentage points apart. Harris touted her Opportunity Economy Plan on the campaign trail, focused on helping the middle class more than corporations and billionaires. Among her goals was to boost affordable housing with tax incentives, bring back child tax credits, institute a price-gouging ban, and codify Roe v. Wade.
Harris thanked her team, running mate Walz and his family, her own family, Biden and everyone in between, down to the poll workers. She expressed gratitude for those who backed her and added that while the outcome may be different than what was imagined, she was proud of what was accomplished.
“And to young the people who are watching, it is OK to feel sad and disappointed,” Harris said. “But sometimes the fight takes a while and one day we will win. Don’t ever give up trying to make the world a better place. You have power — and don’t listen when someone tells you it’s impossible to do something because it’s never been done before.”
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