‘Kamala Harris ended her campaign as she ran it – offering hope that all was not lost’

The mood was subdued and young volunteers embraced tearfully as they waited for the Vice President to appear on stage

The final moments of Kamala Harris’ campaign were emotionally charged, decent and remarkably hopeful.

She found herself in a unique position in American history.

It’s not only that had to concede to someone she believes will be bad for the country – every losing candidate thinks that.

But of Donald Trump she has repeatedly used the language of fascism, calling him a dictator a tyrant. Not only someone bad for America – but someone who could bring forth the end of America.

And yet she was tasked with reminding her followers that what separates them from the other guys is that when they lose, they do so with grace, not violence.

Outside Fredrick Douglass Memorial Hall on the campus of Howard University, a few thousand of Kamala Harris’s most staunch supporters and volunteers gathered for her concession speech.

The mood was subdued. Young volunteers embraced tearfully as they waited for the Vice President to appear on stage.

But Ms Harris did her best to remind those who worked hardest to put her in the Oval Office that despite the devastating defeat, all was not lost.

“The light of America’s promise will never burn out as long as we never give up and as long as we keep fighting,” she said – urging her followers to stay true to the principles of fairness, decency and social justice that were central to her 117-day campaign.

She said that while she conceded the election, she did not concede “the fight that fuelled this campaign.”

“I know folks are feeling a range of emotions, I get it,” she told the crowd, many of whom were in tears.

“But we must accept the results of this election.”

While the crowd booed her announcement that she had spoken to Donald Trump already to concede, they cheered as she expressed the importance of a peaceful transfer of power – something that was nearly denied to her boss, Joe Biden, just four years ago by the man who won last night’s election.

Expressing pride in how her campaign had been fought, she said: “To everyone watching, do not despair. This is not a time to throw up our hands, this is a time to roll up our sleeves.”

“Only when it is dark enough can you see the stars,” she told them, closing the speech.

“I know many people feel like we are entering a dark time, and for the benefit of us all I hope that is not the case.

“But America, if it is, let us fill the sky with the light of a billion, billion, billion of stars.”