Harris cancels appearance at election party as Trump surges ahead

Only hours earlier on Tuesday, the mood across Howard’s campus had been exuberant, reminiscent of the joy and enthusiasm that characterised the early days of Harris’s presidential campaign.

Thousands stood outside under the night sky, ready to celebrate the country’s first woman president.

Unlike Hillary Clinton, who made gender a centrepiece of her 2016 run, Harris mostly sidestepped discussions of identity, and the history-making potential of her campaign.

And yet, the choice of venue on Tuesday night was replete with symbolism, bringing Harris’s campaign to a close at Howard, one of the country’s preeminent historically black colleges and universities (HBCU).

Many in the crowd were decked out in Howard merchandise, or the regalia of Harris’s sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA), the country’s first black sorority, the sorority’s trademark bright pink colour standing out in the sea of people.

“It means a lot that she decided to come home,” said Patrice Williams, a member of AKA who attended another one of the country’s HBCUs.

After months of polling showing the candidates in a virtual tie, early voting data gave the Harris team some reason for optimism: women – who polls show are backing Harris by a sizable margin – were turning out in record numbers.

And when early returns showed Harris boasted modest leads in crucial states Pennsylvania and Michigan, the gathered crowd had erupted in excitement that the night may be tipping in her favour.

But that cautious excitement soon gave way to anxiety, as Harris’s path to the White House looked increasingly improbable, blocked by Trump’s accumulating state victories.