PBS brought its familiar News Hour crew to its Election Night 2024 coverage, anchored by Amna Nawaz and Geoff Bennett. Laura Barron-Lopez reported from Howard University in D.C, Harris’s “victory party” locale, while William Brangham reported from Trump’s actual victory party in West Palm Beach.
The anchors checked in with the on-scene reporters roughly every hour, and while the mood remained optimistic through the night at Trump headquarters, one could see the glumness descending in stages at Harris HQ -- and perhaps in Barron-Lopez herself (who had a coughing fit at one point) -- as the confident predictions she passed along from the Harris campaign fell by the wayside and Harris’s victory lane narrowed, hour by hour.
Read on, as the air gradually leaking from the Harris presidency trial balloon as the hours on Election Night passed.
6:09 p.m.
Barron-Lopez: They are feeling really good this evening. The vice president spent her final day talking to radio stations in swing states across the country, making her final appeal to voters to turn out for her. She also stopped by the Democratic National Committee headquarters in D.C. To thank volunteers who were continuing to phone bank in this final day to get people out and vote. To give you a sense of their confidence in their ground game, Geoff, the campaign said that as of 11 a.m. this morning, that their Pennsylvania team had knocked on some 100,000 doors in Pennsylvania just today, that’s in addition to the 800,000 they had knocked on over the weekend.
7:02 p.m.
Barron-Lopez: Harris’s campaign is feeling really good tonight, Geoff. They've been sharing some statistics that they think shows Harris could very well be on the pathway to 270. Specifically, they said there is high Puerto Rican turnout in Philadelphia, that's what some of the campaign sources highlighted and they think that bodes well for them because of the fact Donald Trump ended the last few weeks with that racist and sexist Madison Square Garden rally where the comedian made the racist joke about Puerto Ricans. So they believe high turnout amongst Puerto Ricans could help in a city like Philadelphia….
8:49 p.m.
As 9 p.m. approached and the numbers began turning south for Harris, Barron-Lopez tamped down the doubting.
Barron-Lopez: Harris's campaign is still exuding cautious optimism. They aren’t reading too much into these early numbers….Another thing they’re pointing out is that they like the numbers that they’re seeing in the suburbs of Atlanta. I was also texting with a House Democrat, a lawmaker from Michigan, who is also saying that they are cautiously optimistic….
9:52 p.m.
Next stage: Denial:
Barron-Lopez: The campaign again, Geoff, is still being very patient, very calm, and they are saying that again, they are seeing good suburban support, specifically when they’re looking at Georgia. Yes, Donald Trump might be up right now, but they’re saying that in some of the larger suburban counties, they’re feeling good. They say, the campaign says, that Harris is currently overperforming Biden's 2020 margin. [Editor’s note: Wrong!]
11:11 p.m.
After getting a drink of water to quell a coughing fit while passing along happy talk from Harris’s campaign manager Jen O'Malley Dillon about Harris overperforming in Philadelphia, Barron-Lopez returned, sounding a little chastened on behalf of Harris.
Barron-Lopez: …. In terms of spin, look, the campaign has gotten a little more quiet lately than they were earlier in the night. That's just the facts. But Jen O'Malley Dillon, as the chair of the Harris campaign, trying to project some calm here….
(Meanwhile, reporter William Brangham found an “incredible sense of optimism” in the Trump camp throughout the night.)
12:09 a.m.
“Cautious optimism” was still hanging on after midnight, despite the undeniable pro-Trump trend.
Barron-Lopez: ….the crowd is still going as they hold out hope that Harris can succeed by winning the Blue Wall states as well as Nevada. When it comes to the Democratic sources I am texting, so far a lot of the Democrats are still cautiously optimistic…
12:44 a.m.
Half an hour later, Democratic frustrations finally poked through the PBS façade.
Barron-Lopez: ….Supporters are still holding out hope that the Blue Wall is going to come through for Harris, that Nevada will come through for Harris. But again, they are really upset that it's coming down to this narrow pathway for the vice president….
By the early Wednesday morn of 1:36 a.m., reality had finally dawned, as Barron-Lopez reported from the now-empty yard at Howard University, stating “The [Harris] campaign has gone almost entirely quiet,” while ending, rather sadly, that the Harris campaign was “still holding out hope for Nevada, Geoff.”
