VP Harris will not address supporters, says campaign co-chair Richmond
Kamala Harris’ campaign co-chair Cedric Richmond announced on Wednesday morning that the Vice President would not address supporters as the campaign awaited additional election results.
The campaign had been awaiting critical election results, with Harris’ path to the presidency becoming increasingly unclear.
Richmond’s announcement came as former President Donald Trump secured victories in North Carolina and appeared poised to win in several key battleground states, tightening the race.
The mood at the Howard University watch party quickly shifted from hopeful anticipation to a more somber, uncertain tone.
“We still have votes to count. We still have states that have not been called yet. We will continue overnight to fight to make sure that every vote is counted,” Richmond told the crowd.
“That every voice has spoken. So you won’t hear from the vice president tonight. But you will hear from her tomorrow.”
Shortly after Richmond’s remarks, the Vice President’s office declared a “lid” on further public appearances for the night, signaling no official events would occur.
Attendees, many still optimistic, were instructed to begin dispersing, though a sense of cautious hope lingered despite the growing evidence of a shifting electoral map.
In the latest projections, Trump had secured 248 Electoral College votes to Harris’ 213, with several battleground states still too close to call.
The former president was projected to win Georgia and North Carolina and was narrowly leading in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Arizona.
However, each of these states remained in flux, with votes still being counted.
The race’s narrowing margins harkened back to the 2016 election when Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton chose not to address her supporters at the Javits Centre in New York as it became clear that Trump was on the verge of a stunning victory.
Harris’s absence was similarly marked by tension and the growing realization that the race was slipping away.
Harris’s campaign now faces a pivotal moment as the remaining votes in several swing states — Arizona, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Michigan — continue to be counted, with some states potentially taking days to tally all ballots.
If Trump maintains his lead, he would need only one of the so-called “blue wall” states of Michigan, Wisconsin, or Pennsylvania, plus Arizona, to surpass the 270 electoral votes needed for victory.
