Tears and trauma at Kamala Harris election night party - as Trump lead starts to strengthen

By Flaminia Luck

Supporters of Kamala Harris have been photographed in tears at an election watch party.

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The event was held at the alma mater of Harris, a historically Black university in Washington DC.

Harris is not expected to speak overnight amid the losses for her campaign.

Donald Trump is currently leading the race for the keys to the White House after taking key states such as Texas, Florida and North Carolina.

Pollster Scarlett Maguire told LBC News that a Trump win is likely.

His Democrat rival has won blue states including California, Oregon and Vermont.

Each candidate needs 270 electoral college votes to reach the White House.

Join Shelagh Fogarty, Jon Sopel, and our teams across the US for comprehensive election updates and analysis through the night on America Decides. Live now on Global Player

'Seriously downcast'

The Harris campaign reportedly shut off the sound on TVs at the watch party.

The Harris has shut off the sound on the TVs at her watch party and replaced it with music after a guest on CNN said the night felt "more like 2016 than 2020", the New York Times reports.

They also said the mood feels "seriously downcast".

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The Democratic presidential nominee graduated from Howard in 1986 with a bachelor's degree in political science and economics.

She has maintained close ties with the school and often describes her four years there as the most formative of her life.

Lindy Li, Democrat strategist, described the mood as "increasingly grim" at Harris HQ.

She added her only way to win the White House is to secure Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Nebraska.

"But it's not looking that way now," she added.

"It's grim": Lindy Li gives brutally honest assessment from Harris HQ

A bar hosting Democratic Party supporters in London went virtually silent as a television network showed Donald Trump narrowly ahead in swing states.

Some UK-based Democrats held their head in their hands as concern spread that Kamala Harris is not doing well enough in the vital battleground states.

There were shouts of "No, that can't be right" as projections on CNN showed Mr Trump strongly ahead among Latino voters in Michigan.

'Worse and worse'

Jill Turetzky, who votes in South Carolina, told the PA news agency: "I showed up today really excited. I was just watching everything that Kamala's done, I'd read her autobiography - I love her.

"And it started going wrong and got worse and worse. There are still some states and it is still possible, but it's very, very unlikely."

Ms Turetzky, 55, said she was "sad" about how the election night had unfolded.

She added: "You can look around the room, there were more than 400 to start and now so many people have gone.

"People can come back for breakfast but I don't know how many people are actually going to come back."

Henry Riley reports from a Trump watch party in Virginia

Meanwhile, the mood is considerably lighter in the Trump camp.

The Republican hopeful appears to be on course for a return to the White House.

He has now secured Georgia - narrowing the Democrats' possible path to victory.

The Republican is also ahead in battleground states including Pennsylvania and Michigan - as the votes continue to be counted.

The race initially appeared neck-and-neck as Americans went to the polls, but Mr Trump pulled ahead as result predictions came in from solidly red states including Florida, Texas and Alabama throughout the night.

Democrat candidate Ms Harris's support came from her party's strongholds on the east and west coast in states like New York, Delaware, and California.