Kamala Harris prepared to certify the 2024 election results on Monday, confirming President-elect Trump's victory and decisive defeat after a heated race for commander-in-chief.
In her role as vice president, Harris, who has spent much of her campaign warning of Trump's threat to democracy, will lead the final stages of the electoral process that will send Trump back to the White House.
Although she is expected to carry out her duties without fanfare, she will ultimately be placed in the awkward position of having her electoral defeat also draw attention.
But Harris is not alone in history. Two vice presidents in recent decades have faced the same predicament. Richard Nixon was vice president when he lost to John F. Kennedy, and Al Gore was vice president when he lost to George W. Bush.
“Being put in the position of admitting that you lost an election has to be one of the most difficult and humiliating experiences in your public life,” said David Thomas, a Democratic strategist and former Gore aide. Ta. “That being said, I fully expect Vice President Harris to fulfill her duties and perform them well.”
“Nixon and Gore did the same thing here. This is one of the last things you have to do as vice president…and it's a very important task for a peaceful transition of power,” he added.
Harris recorded a video message Monday ahead of her certification, calling the duty a “sacred duty” and saying she was “guided by love of country, loyalty to the Constitution, and unwavering faith in the American people.” He said it was something that should be protected. She also said in her message that “our democracy can be fragile.”
For many cycles, the vice president's role in presiding over the electoral tally in Congress, the final stage of the electoral process before a president ascends to the White House, has been known as largely uneventful and largely ceremonial. Ta.
That all changed on January 6, 2021, when a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol to challenge President Biden's 2020 victory.
For then-Trump Vice President Mike Pence, his actions that day cemented his role in history.
Mr. Pence has been under pressure from Mr. Trump to overturn Mr. Biden's victory, which he has refused to do. As a result, rioters stormed the Capitol, chanting “hang Mike Pence” and attacking President Trump's second-in-command.
The relationship between Trump and Pence, who ran for the 2024 Republican nomination, never mended, even though Pence occasionally appeared to defend his former boss on policy issues. Still, the former vice president on the same day condemned Trump's actions and endangering his family and others inside the Capitol.
The riot became a key factor in Biden's re-election bid and later became a stump speech by Harris. Both men continued to argue that Trump is a threat to democracy and unfit to return to office. Harris has at times agreed that Trump is a “fascist” and delivered her campaign's closing arguments from the Ellipse near the White House, the same location where Trump spoke to supporters on the morning of January 6, 2021. I did it.
But that message didn't reach American voters. Trump won the November election, decisively defeating Harris in both the electoral college and the popular vote.
Harris has made few public appearances since her election loss. She has given two major speeches, including a concession speech at Howard University. She made several appearances around Washington, but overall stayed out of the spotlight.
A former Harris aide said he did not see Monday's certification as a “sympathy party.”
“Vice President Harris made it clear to her team and supporters that this is not the time for a pity party. As she said, the fight continues. Certifying the election results will leave our democracy intact. “We all hear her talk about how important that is,” the former aide said.
Biden certified Trump's 2016 victory in the same ceremonial manner when he was vice president. Several Democratic lawmakers tried to object to the count, but Biden ultimately told them there was no point in objecting after then-Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton's landslide defeat.
As was the case in Goa in 2001. prove Bush's victoryafter winning the popular vote but losing the election, had to defeat several Democrats who opposed him with a gavel. The race resulted in a historic recount and was ultimately decided by the Supreme Court.
Paul Thornell, a former Congressional liaison who was with Gore on the day of the count, told The Hill, “One of the deep kinds of moments that I've come to admire since that day is when Gore told the nation… “This meant we had to dissuade them from prolonging the process,” he said.
“He did it with a smile on his face,” said Mr. Thornell, a partner at Melman Consulting. “The image I had of him that day in my head was that there was a point where he basically had to beat the guy with a gavel. And then he started talking, so they continued speaking, and then he stopped, put his hand on his chest, and nodded at them as if to say, “Thank you.''
Mr. Gore never again ran for political office.
In 1961, when Nixon announced from the Speaker Pro Tempe chair: Kennedy won in November of the previous year.took this opportunity to issue a statement, using the situation as an example of constitutional stability.
“This is the first time in 100 years that a presidential candidate has announced the results of an election in which he lost and his opponent won,” Nixon said. “
“I can think of no more impressive or eloquent example of the stability of our nation's constitutional system and the American people's proud tradition of developing and respecting our institutions of self-government,” he said.
Nixon was elected president eight years later, but resigned in disgrace following the Watergate scandal.
For Harris, 60, questions swirl about what role she might play next in politics. A run for California governor in 2026 has been floated from time to time in political circles, and Democrats often mention her as a front-runner.
“She's going to be a very formidable candidate for governor of California, and that's going to be exciting for her…It's a pretty strong perch. It's not the president, but it's the largest state in the country. And it's It’s going to be an exciting prize for her,” said the longtime Democratic donor and funder.
A Pac News/Echelon Insights poll released after the election found Harris to be the Democratic Party's front-runner for the 2028 presidential nomination, with 41 percent of likely Democratic voters voting for her. It turned out that he was deaf.
Since the November election, Harris has spent considerable time in Los Angeles and Hawaii, but has also made sporadic appearances around Washington. On Friday, she was at the Capitol to swear in new senators on the first day of the new Congress.
Meanwhile, Democrats are rebuilding their party not only in the wake of her loss, but also after Republicans won the Senate majority and maintained the House majority.
They are faced with understanding not only what went wrong in 2024, but also how to move forward and who the future face of the party will be.
Democrats believe Harris should be part of that rebuilding process.
“She has the right to participate in any way she wants to participate,” the Democratic donor and donor said. “She is clearly the leader of our party.”
