“While I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign.”
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Vice President Kamala Harris has conceded the 2024 Presidential Election to former and future president, Donald Trump.
Harris admitted her loss Wednesday (Nov 6) while visiting her alma mater, HBCU Howard University in Washington D.C. She addressed the crowd approximately 12 hours after the race was called for Trump after choosing not to address her disappointed HU supporters the night of the election.
“My heart is full today, my heart is full today. Full of gratitude for the trust you have placed in me, full of love for our country, and full of resolve,” she began around 4:24pm EST. “The outome of this election is not what we wanted, not what we fought for, not what we voted for, but hear mw when I say…the light of America’s promise will always burn bright. As long as we never give up and as long as we keep fighting.”
WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 06: Democratic presidential nominee, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris departs the stage with Second gentleman Doug Emhoff after conceding the election, at Howard University on November 06, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
“To my beloved Doug and our family, I love you so much,” she told her husband with a smile. “To Pres. Biden and Dr. Biden, thank you for your faith and your support. To Gov. Walz and the Walz family, I know your service to this nation will continue.”
She went on to thank her team, volunteers, poll workers, local election officials before detailing her choice to run a clean race, regardless of the outcome.
“Look, I am so proud of the race we ran, and the way we ran it. Over the 107 days of this campaign, we have been intentional about building community and building coalitions. Bringing people together from every walk of life, and background, united by love of country, enthusiasm and joy in our fight for America’s future. And we did it with the knowledge that we all have so much more in common than what separates us.”
WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 06: Democratic presidential nominee, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks on stage as she concedes the election, at Howard University on November 06, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Harris was also sure to tell her supporters to accept the results of the election, regardless of their disappointment, confirming that she spoke to Trump and “congratulated him on his victory.” She also emphasized that they will engage in a “peaceful transfer of power,” unlike Trump, who contested the results of his loss to Pres. Joe Biden in 2020 and encouraged supporters to act out in what resulted in the Jan. 6 insurrection.
“A fundamental principle of American democracy is that when we lose an election, we accept the results,” she continued. “That principle, as much as much as any other, distinguishes democracy from monarchy or tyranny, and anyone who seeks the public trust must honor it.
“At the same time, in our nation, we owe loyalty not to a president or to a party, but to the Constitution of the United States,” she added to applause. “And loyalty to our conscious and to our God. My allegiance to all three is why I am here to say, while I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign.”
US Vice President Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris arrives to speak at Howard University in Washington, DC, on November 6, 2024. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
Former and future president, Donald Trump, was declared the winner of the election just after 5:30 a.m. ET after securing Wisconsin, earning him more than the necessary 270 electoral votes. Trigger-happy reports declared the businessman the winner after he took the heavily-courted swing state of Pennsylvania, not to mention Georgia, both states that Democrat and current President Joe Biden won during the 2020 election. These wins all but confirmed his status as the returning commander-in-chief.
“I want to thank the American people for the extraordinary honor of being elected your 47th president and your 45th president,” Trump said at his election headquarters in Florida, as reported by CBS News. “And every citizen, I will fight for you, for your family and for your future. Every single day, I will be fighting for you with every breath in my body.”
Watch Vice President Harris’ full concession speech below.
