WASHINGTON, D.C. — After some of the most memorable 15 weeks in presidential campaign history, now it was time to stop — and wait. But also, celebrate. Until the time for that, too, had passed.

For Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign, that wait was at Howard University in Washington, D.C. The storied historically Black college is Harris’ alma mater, a place she has frequently described as home. At the start of the evening, the mood was equal parts watch party and jubilant Harris rally. 

But the celebratory vibes proved to be short-lived when polls around the country closed and results started coming in. The assembled crowd on the Yard at Howard, somber and anxious, watched CNN’s and MSNBC’s live election coverage on large projector screens. Both networks, along with Decision Desk HQ, have projected Harris will lose the battleground states of Georgia and North Carolina. Initial returns show former President Donald Trump leading her in the critical “Blue Wall” states of Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. Those states, along with Arizona and Nevada, remain too close to call. 

At around midnight, the event organizers pulled the plug on the cable news feed and started playing upbeat music again. But as Harris’ presidential prospects took a turn for the worse, many attendees also decided to call it quits and head for the exits.

Harris, who was spending the night at the vice president’s residence, did not address the crowd. At around 12:40 a.m. ET, her campaign co-chair and ally, former Rep. Cedric Richmond gave brief remarks. 

“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 every vote is counted, every voice has spoken,” Richmond said. “You won’t hear from the vice president tonight, but you will hear from her tomorrow. She will be back here tomorrow to address not only the HU family, not only to address her supporters, but to address the nation.”  

By 1 am, the Yard had emptied out. 

Earlier in the evening, the crowd was filled with anticipatory excitement, vibrating with the possibility and hope of what a Harris win would represent — for individual identities, for a redefining of patriotism. Students across campus were engaged in their own waiting game, taking in the significance of the moment — the possibility that a woman of color and HBCU grad was this close to winning the presidency.

“Tonight, as we continue the hard and necessary work of democracy, the work that advances our nation forward, we at Howard are proud and honored to be able to host our alumna and welcome her home,” Howard President Ben Vinson told the assembled crowd.

Students, faculty and D.C.-area locals began to line up on the sidewalk awaiting entrance to the Howard University watch party by mid-afternoon, well in advance of its official 6 p.m. ET start time, an hour before polls started to close on the East Coast. As vendors hawked unofficial campaign merchandise, the energy was equal parts joyful and anxious. 

Cherion Worthem, a Howard senior originally from Atlanta, said she was experiencing a host of emotions. “I’m very nervous, but excited — and hope is my main emotion.” The significance of the results of this election for women’s rights was weighing heavily on her. 

By 7:45 p.m., the Yard began to fill with students. As the crowd gathered, a DJ played music and attendees broke out into several of the line dances that are tradition and ritual at HBCUs and among Black Greek organizations. The mood felt celebratory, even in the absence of any actual results. 

Worthem, a political science major, said she is hoping for a Harris win “with everything in my being.” She said she didn’t just vote for Harris because they share an alma mater, but because she’s “not only the person with better character, but with better policies and a better plan — not just ‘concepts of a plan.’”

Speaking to Zerlina Maxwell on Sirius XM radio Tuesday evening as polls were still closing, Harris spoke of her goal to chart a new path forward for America, in both policy and culture. 

“I do believe this is one of the most significant elections of our lifetime, and there’s a real choice in front of us…about fanning the flames of hate and fear — or do we want to move forward and turn the page on that era and chart a new way forward that’s about a new generation of leadership in America?” Harris asked. She then gave details about the core tenets of her “opportunity economy” plan, including a $25,000 down payment assistance program for first-time home buyers, a $6,000 child tax credit, and $20,000 in forgivable loans for startup small businesses. 

Harris also spoke passionately about the impact of the overturn of Roe v. Wade on Americans’ lives — and the role that her opponent, former President Donald Trump, played in creating this reality on the ground. 

“Women have had extraordinary complications with miscarriages and been denied care, have developed sepsis, and only then are receiving care. IVF treatments are at risk. Access to contraception is at risk,” Harris said. “So, and we are talking about such a fundamental freedom, which is the freedom of a woman to make decisions about her own body and not have her government tell her what to do.” 

Ve Wright, a junior journalism major at Howard from Broward County, Florida, was excited for the representation that Harris brings. As an Indian and Black person themselves, the thrill of what it means to see Harris in that position was peaking tonight. For Wright, Tuesday night was also very much about the future of reproductive rights. “We definitely want women to be able to take care of their own health, to take charge of their own health.” Seeing a “powerful Black woman” leading this charge only underscored the critical feeling of the moment. 

Three time zones away, in Harris’ hometown, spirits were still high around 10 p.m. EST as partygoers gathered at the Oakland Museum of California with Democratic congressional candidate Lateefah Simon, a longtime Harris mentee. 

Simon was running the Young Women’s Freedom Center, focusing on supporting vulnerable girls who had been touched by state systems or street violence, when she first met Harris, then San Francisco district attorney. Harris convinced Simon, a teen mom, that she could enact more change by working for the government. Simon was instrumental in the creation of Back On Track, Harris’ signature anti-recidivism program supporting young men.

Party attendees John Roussel and his wife, September, brought their two kids, ages 3 and 1, with them after seeing the event billed as child friendly. Harris’ candidacy, he said, shows their kids that “regardless of your gender, everyone has the potential to be a leader in this country.” 

It was a promise still pregnant earlier in the evening on the Howard campus as well.

Denise Blackburn, a Virginia resident who — like Harris — is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, said election night  felt like a “turning of the tide, just looking forward in terms of what we want our country to be and how we want it to represent us. All of us — not just a sliver of the population.”

By 11 p.m. ET, the mood at Howard turned more somber as crowds watched returns with rapt attention. Within an hour, most attendees had begun to make the journey back home, to sleep, to rest, to wait to see what the morning would hold. 

Correction: An earlier version of this article misstated a student's pronouns. Another source was mistakenly described as a Howard student and is not.