WASHINGTON – Vice President Kamala Harris Accepts 2024 White House race President-elect Donald Trump On Wednesday, and in just four years, he promised a peaceful transfer of power to Republicans. Violent riot at the US Capitol Trump’s boss overshadowed his previous transfer to outgoing President Joe Biden.

“As long as we never give up and continue to fight, the light of America’s promise will always burn bright,” Harris said in her afternoon concession speech at Howard University, her alma mater and the site of the election night watch party. This became a somber affair in itself as Trump moved closer to victory.

While Harris promised a peaceful transfer of power back to Trump, she also told a crowd of her supporters that she would continue to fight for the policies she introduced during her short-lived presidential campaign, including abortion rights and gun control.

“While I accept this election, I do not accept the fight that fueled this campaign,” Harris, 60, said. “We will continue to wage this fight in the voting booths, in the courts, and in the public square, and we will continue to do so more quietly, by treating each other with kindness and respect, by how we live our lives.”

The 2024 election marks the second time Democrats have nominated a woman to oppose Trump. And for the second time, the country elected Trump as its next president.

This week’s rapid losses have left the Democratic Party struggling as Harris has failed to make the protection of American freedoms and democracy the defining issues of the presidential election. Both were gaining points for Democrats in the 2022 congressional elections. Now, Republicans are set in January control The White House and the Senate will be able to retain all levers of power if they can hold on to the majority in the House of Representatives.

In the final days of the 2024 presidential race, Harris argued that Trump would use elected office to take political revenge against his enemies, would not abide by the Constitution, and was mentally unstable.

Many voters opposed it.

Trump campaigned on his first-term economic record and promised to crack down on illegal immigration. She has managed to overcome the legacy of the January 6 uprising and the double-digit disadvantage among women. overwhelming superiority among men.

His victory was ultimately shaped not by his divisive rhetoric, but by his stance on the issues that matter most to Americans, such as the economy. Victory over Harris now means the US is expected to retreat from Biden’s globally focused national security priorities and turn to domestic challenges such as immigration and persistently high inflation.

Democrats will focus on rebuilding after Harris loss

Harris’s failure at the polls is a uniquely extraordinary moment in a presidential race that has been upended by unexpected events, including two failed assassination attempts against Trump.

Democrats will now look to rebuild their ranks on Capitol Hill and in the states; As recent history has shown, the 2026 mid-term campaign cycle could work in his favor. There is also now ample room for the party in 2028, when Trump’s term will be limited due to another four years in the White House. Looking ahead, many governors are expected to play important roles for Democrats, including Michigan’s Gretchen Whitmer, Pennsylvania’s Josh Shapiro, California’s Gavin Newsom and Maryland’s Wes Moore.

Harris said in a statement on Wednesday that she would continue to be politically engaged despite her loss in this election, and stated that young people should still fight for reproductive rights, gun control and democracy.

“I often say this in the campaign, if we fight, we win,” Harris said. “But here’s the thing… Sometimes a fight just takes a while.”

“That doesn’t mean we can’t win,” Harris added.

Harris entered the 2024 race just over 100 days before the election after Biden, 81, abruptly ended his campaign for a second term in July over concerns he was not physically or mentally prepared to serve another four years.

With the incumbent president’s endorsement, Democrats quickly coalesced around her candidacy, securing Harris the party’s nomination and turning her attention to Trump, whom she viewed as a threat to democracy and unfit for the Oval Office.

Harris campaigned on the promise that she would make middle-class Americans a priority in her administration and offered them a series of tax cuts. He pushed back against Trump’s claims that he is not a capitalist while campaigning on centrist economic policies and saying he would only raise taxes on corporations and wealthy Americans.

Harris rarely mentioned the groundbreaking nature of her candidacy at her 2024 campaign hearing. Instead, he frequently focused on his previous work as a prosecutor and cited his old legal cases to draw a contrast with Trump, who has faced criminal charges and is also the first former president to be convicted of 34 crimes that include paying hush money for an old porn movie. referred to. The star who allegedly had an extramarital affair.

Harris began her public service as a prosecutor in California’s Alameda County and quickly rose to become San Francisco district attorney, state attorney general, and U.S. senator. He launched an ill-fated bid for the presidency in 2019 before becoming Biden’s running mate.

This article first appeared on USA TODAY: Harris concedes race to Trump, Democrats enter political wilderness