Vice President Kamala Harris conceded the election, saying she spoke to President-Elect Donald Trump.
“The outcome of this election is not what we wanted, not what we fought for, not voted for, but hear me 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,” she told her supporters.
“I am so proud of the race we ran and the way we ran it,” Harris said. “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.”
“Now I know folks are feeling and experiencing a range of emotions right now. I get it,” she added. “But we must accept the results of this election. Earlier today, I spoke with President-Elect Trump and congratulated him on his victory. I also told him that we will help him and his team with their transition. And that we will engage in a peaceful transfer of power.”
“While I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fuels this campaign,” she declared.
Harris said she will “never give up the fight for a future where Americans can pursue their dreams, ambitions, and aspirations, where the women of America have the freedom to make decisions about their own body, and not have their government telling them what to do.”
“We will never give up the fight to protect our schools and our streets from gun violence,” she added. “And America, we will never give up the fight for our democracy, for the rule of law, for equal justice, and for the sacred idea that every one of us, no matter who we are or where we start out, has certain fundamental rights and freedoms that must be respected and upheld.”
Democrats will continue waging “this fight in the voting booth, in the courts, and in the public square,” Harris described, noting Democrats will also “wage it in quieter ways, in how we live our lives, by treating one another with kindness and respect, by looking in the face of a stranger and seeing a neighbor, by always using our strength to lift people up, to fight for the dignity that all people deserve.”
