WASHINGTON — The hope of potentially electing the first Black woman president that Liane Crosey felt on Election Day was nearly gone by early Wednesday morning as she left the watch party for Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris at Howard University.

“I don’t know what’s happening, but it’s very stressful right now,” Crosey said. “Seeing the numbers coming in, I don’t feel as hopeful.”

As former President Donald Trump won?Southern swing states North Carolina and Georgia, supporters who were excited earlier Tuesday began to leave in droves. President Joe Biden flipped Georgia in 2020, and Democrats were hoping to repeat the victory in this election.

The once-packed field at Howard emptied after Harris campaign Co-Chair Cedric Richmond, a former Louisiana congressman, informed the crowd that the vice president would not be making a much-anticipated appearance.

Instead, Richmond said that she would be addressing supporters later Wednesday. He tried to quell the dour mood that had settled over the watch party.

“We still have votes to count. We still have states that have not been called yet,” Richmond said. “We will continue overnight to fight to make sure that every vote is counted, that every voice has spoken.”

Disappointment

Dayesha Sims said she was disappointed that Harris never appeared.

She was hoping to catch a glimpse of Harris, a Howard graduate, who would have been the first Black and South Asian woman of descent to be president. It’s a historic first that her campaign has downplayed in her surprise sprint to the White House after Biden bowed out of the race this summer.

The 28-year-old said she’s feeling “a little anxious” about the outcome of the presidential race.

“It’s a close race,” she said. “I’m really hoping that everyone sees what she stands for and what she can do for the country and that she will pull through.”

Many attendees acknowledged that the presidential race was going to be close, but like Lalika Gerald, tried to keep anxieties at bay and focus on the potential historic nature of a Howard grad ascending to the presidency.

Gerald, 41, pointed at Founders Library, which overlooks the Yard, the field where the election watch party was held. She reminisced about the hours spent there studying TV production.

“It just shows that there is no end, you could go all the way to the top,” she said. “I am honored to be in this space.”

Gerald was one of thousands of Harris supporters gathered at the Yard. A Jumbotron had CNN on as the throng of supporters awaited election results, but as Trump continued to gain electoral votes, the cheers dampened and the crowd thinned.

By about 2 a.m. Eastern Wednesday,?Trump had racked up 247 Electoral College votes overall nationally compared to Harris’ 214, according to The Associated Press projections. To win, a candidate must clear 270 Electoral College votes.

Big moment for Howard

The university prepared for the vice president’s arrival, deploying workers to pressure wash the sidewalk to temporarily mask the smells that come with college students and a bustling city nightlife. It was a big moment for the historically Black university, as it could have marked the first time a Howard alum would become commander-in-chief.?

Harris graduated from Howard University with a bachelor’s degree in 1986. While at the university, she was?a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., the first Black sorority, established in 1908 at Howard.

Harris’ sorority and the other Black Greek-letter organizations that make up the ‘Divine Nine’ quickly rallied behind her, and?undertook a major voter turnout mobilization campaign.

Gerald, a member of?Sigma Gamma Rho, a Black sorority, said that her sorority has “been very instrumental in making sure that our citizens, our community members, come out and vote.”

“We’re not asking for who you are voting for, but we just encourage that we all participate in our civic duty of voting,” she said.

Joyful mood early

While supporters were waiting for some of the first polls to close, a handful of attendees took to the field to do stepping — a high-energy dance that has roots in African folk dance that is performed by many Black sororities and fraternities.??

The D.J.s hyped up the crowd and put on the “Wobble.” It attracted hundreds from the stands — including Howard University President?Ben Vinson — to head to the field to dance.

The energy at the Yard was nothing like Shontae Harrell has felt before.

The 41-year-old had just visited her university for homecoming a couple of weeks earlier, but said it didn’t feel this “electric.”

She said she hadn’t “settled into my feelings yet,” but that she’s proud to be an alumna.

“I am a little nervous,” she said around 8 p.m., adding that she hadn’t yet tuned into any election results.

Japera Krigger, 29, said she’s not surprised a Howard graduate could be president.

“Howard produces some of the most brilliant minds in this country so it was only a matter of time before we produced a president,” she said.

Krigger graduated from Howard, where she studied communications, in 2019. She said that when she thinks of Harris, she is reminded of the young Black girls she mentors.

“If they want to be president, they won’t have the pressure of being the first,” she said, adding that even if Harris breaks that glass ceiling, “we feel like there will always be that ceiling.”

“We have to continue to break that,” she said.

Last updated 2:41 a.m., Nov. 6, 2024