The ballroom was empty now, save for the cleaning crew pulling down the red, white, and blue banners that had draped the stage just hours before. I continued to watch keenly on my phone as I sat alone at my round kitchen table. The echo of her concession speech still ringing in my ears. It had been delivered with all the grace her team demanded: “The fight was fair, the people have spoken, and we must look forward.” But every word felt like a betrayal. I wondered how Kamala Harris must have felt, the precinct anomalies, would she stir the pot about the unexpected polling shifts, and above all, would she hint at lawsuits just yet?
A glass of juice sat untouched in front of me, the ice long since melted. I stared at my phone, watching the endless flood of messages from allies and opportunists on social media. Most of them said the same thing: “she’ll be back in four years.”
I wasn’t so sure.
The people of America have spoken – America is not ready for a female president!
The room spun slightly as exhaustion crept in from lack of much sleep. Months of grueling rallies, debates, and soundbites and all for this moment. All for a loss! Somewhere in the back of my mind, a seed of doubt began to sprout. Had her campaign manager been too cautious? Had the party’s leadership miscalculated the momentum? Or worse – was it true that something bigger had interfered?
Well I have no chief of staff or aide, no one by my side to break my reverie that I need to get some rest, now. However and I’m pretty sure that rest would be far from muttered where Harris was concerned. Some will argue that rest is what you say when you’re out of options. The uncomfortably shift is this – there are still avenues that be could have been explored. Recounts, legal challenges… etc. The data team can look into discrepancies but all too flickering as one have to decide how far one is willing to go. There’s no coming back from a full-scale fight. Not without casualties. We all know how the other side fights…
I leaned back in my chair and exhaled deeply. The country’s already broken! And they just handed the pieces to someone else.
I picked up my phone, scrolling past the messages until I stopped on one that chilled me. It was from a trusted confidant in the states.
“We need to have a postmortem of the election to know what really happened in the swing states”. I stared at the words, my mind racing that means combing through the data with a fine tooth brush. Election results, exit polls, voting machine logs, tracked voter turnout, precinct discrepancies, and data anomalies etc.
Hmmm! So this is it! Kamala Harris truly lost to Donald Trump and gracious in defeat but not all loss as Harris faces several potential paths. Public discussions have included the possibility of her remaining active in Democratic politics, perhaps as an advocate for key causes like voting rights or climate change, or considering a return to legal or advocacy work. Harris’s next moves could shape her political legacy and influence future Democratic leadership. At least the Democrats have been able to produce two female presidential candidates in recent times, Hilary Clinton in 2016 and elected Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024 unlike the republicans with only a record of a vice presidential candidate in 2008 arguably the first to put a woman forward in recent and significant national presence.
Relentlessly, history has seen a number of women received national attention over the years. From Victoria Claflin Woodhull in 1872 – The first woman to run for United States President, Woodhull was the candidate of the Equal Rights Party. She fought for women’s rights and founded her own newspaper. She became the first woman to own a Wall Street investment firm. Furthermore, Marietta Stow in 1884 – Stow ran for vice president under the banner of the Equal Rights Party and as running mate to Belva Lockwood in 1884. She is the first woman to run for vice president in the United States. Women have either been pioneers in the electoral process, as potential candidates, or as candidates of minor parties of national magnitude. Whilst we have others from minor parties or were fringe candidates who entered major party primaries.
In our present days, Kamala Harris in 2020. Harris is the third woman vice presidential nominee from a major U.S. party and the first multiracial woman, first South Asian woman, and first Black woman nominee for the vice presidency. She won election on the 3rd of November 2020. Harris was District Attorney of San Francisco from 2004 to 2011. She was California’s Attorney General from 2011 to 2017, serving as the first Black woman to be elected statewide in California. In 2016, Harris became the first woman of color elected to the Senate from California, as well as the first South Asian woman and only the second Black woman in the U.S. Senate.
This is not the end of the journey for Harris. It’s just another chapter, one where you learn, grow, and keep moving forward. Losing an election is a tough pill to swallow. However, Kamala Harris has already broken barriers that no one thought possible. She has shown millions of people what’s possible and no can take that from her. Always fight for what you believed in. Give your all, and that’s all anyone can ask of you. The people who supported you, they still believe in you and they’ll stand with you in the future.
Harris has a legacy already. Now, the key is for her to hold her head high and continue to serve. Whether it’s through public service, in the Senate, or wherever she feels called—there’s no end to her impact. Harris has something that not everyone has and that is the ability to rise above it all. People will question, doubt, criticize. And that’s okay. Listening and not letting it define you is the game changer. Harris has a voice and a platform. And even in defeat, she will come to make a difference. From her track record, she will continue to fight for the issues she cares about, for the people who need her advocacy. Laser focus on the work ahead is paramount. Some moments are just bumps in the road, as the pivotal journey ahead is far from over. Definitely, she has a place in her heart to lead from and the future is still ahead. Most importantly, she’s got time, and the support of people who believe in her.
As someone in public service, I know that navigating both the highs and lows of politics in any terrain is no small feat. Keeping grounded, reflecting on accomplishments knowing that setbacks are temporary with a lot of emphasize on resilience, patience, and the value of continuing to serve the public in meaningful ways is the lighthouse for any storm.
