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WATCH: Harris hosts election night watch party at Howard University in D.C.

Politics Nov 5, 2024 11:00 AM EDT

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Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign hosted an election night party at Howard University in Washington, a historically Black university where she graduated with a degree in economics and political science in 1986 and was an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.

Watch the event in the player above.

The mood at Harris’ election night party shifted from electric to anxious as race calls began rolling in. The musical performances and triumphant speeches on display earlier in the evening were replaced by occasional DJ mixes and broadcast race calls.

Anxious faces and hushed talk spread through the crowd as the night stretched on and the tightness of the race became apparent.

The still-packed crowd periodically went quiet as attendees watched returns come in on a giant projection of CNN. Rallygoers cheered and waved American flags as solidly blue states like Harris’ native California were called in her favor.

2024 U.S. Presidential Election Night, at Howard University, in Washington

Supporters hold flags during the Election Night rally for Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, at Howard University, in Washington, D.C., Nov. 5, 2024. Photo by Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters

Harris’ campaign chair stressed patience and resolve in a message to all campaign staff obtained by The Associated Press, arguing that the “closeness of the race is exactly what we prepared for” and predicting the race won’t “come into focus until the early morning hours.”

The message from campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon was meant for an audience beyond campaign staff, too, as nervous Democrats nationwide watch the race between Harris and Trump narrow to a handful of key battleground states.

“As we have known all along, this is a razor thin race,” wrote O’Malley Dillon, citing turnout in Philadelphia and early vote totals in suburban Bucks County, Pennsylvania; outstanding votes in Detroit; and uncounted vote in Dane and Milwaukee counties in Wisconsin, two Democratic strongholds.

While the longtime Democratic operative noted forthcoming counting in Nevada and Arizona, the memo highlighted how central the so-called “blue wall” states of Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania are to Harris’ path to victory.

“We’ve been saying for weeks that this race might not be called tonight,” she wrote, adding later, “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.”