KAMALA Harris has said that while she concedes the US election, she does “not concede the fight that fuelled this campaign”.
Harris lost the election to Republican candidate Donald Trump after he took the swing state of Wisconsin.
Speaking to supporters outside Howard University on Wednesday afternoon – her alma mater – Harris said her “heart is full”.
“Full of gratitude for the trust you have placed in me, full of love for our country, and full of resolve,” she continued.
Harris thanked her campaign team, current president Joe Biden, her running mate Tim Walz and local election officials across the country.
She took to the stage shortly after 9.30pm GMT, as her campaign team said she had spent the day writing her concession speech.
Harris said that she had congratulated Trump and that she was committed to a “peaceful transfer of power”, alluding to the moment Trump denied the results of the 2020 election which ultimately led to the January 6 insurrection.
“We must accept the results of this election,” Harris said.
“While I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fuelled this campaign.
“The light of America’s promise will always burn bright, as long as we never give up and as long as we keep fighting.”
Harris encouraged people to continue to fight for the freedom of all women to make decisions about their own bodies, “not for a government to tell them what to do”.
She also referred to combatting gun violence, hitting out at the pro-gun stance held by the Republican Party.
Harris added: “We will continue to wage this fight in the voting booth, in the courts and in the public square.
“This is not a time to throw up our hands, this is a time to roll up our sleeves.”
Harris referenced a well-known quote: “Only when it is dark enough can you see the stars.”
“I know many people feel like we are entering a dark time, but for the benefit for us all I hope that’s not the case,” she said.
“But if it is, let us fill the sky with the light of a brilliant billion of stars, the light of optimism, of faith, of truth and service.
“And may that work guide us even in the face of setbacks, toward the extraordinary promise of the United States of America.”
