Vice President Kamala Harris delivers concession speech after loss to Donald Trump but says, 'I do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign'

Vice President Kamala Harris addressed the nation from Howard University, her alma mater, publicly conceding defeat in the presidential election to Donald Trump.

"The outcome of this election is not what we wanted, not what we fought for, not what we voted for," she said. "But hear me when I say — the light of America's promise will always burn bright as long as we never give up and as long as we keep fighting."

She urged her supporters to accept the results of the election

"We owe loyalty not to a president or a party, but to the Constitution of the United States," she said.

The Associated Press called the presidential race Wednesday morning around 5:30 a.m. ET after Trump won 276 electoral votes to Harris’s 223, although Trump declared victory at 2:30 a.m. ET during a speech to supporters at an election party in Florida. Harris did not address supporters or the country on Tuesday night as the election results were coming in.

"While I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign," she said Wednesday. "The fight — the fight for freedom, for opportunity, for fairness and for the dignity of all people."

In a message directed specifically at young voters, Harris said, "Sometimes the fight takes a while, that doesn't mean we won't win. This is not a time to throw up our hands, this is a time to roll up our sleeves."

Harris called President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday to congratulate him, and during the reportedly brief conversation they discussed the "importance of a peaceful transfer of power and being a president for all Americans," a senior Harris aide told CNN. Trump's campaign communications director, Steven Cheung, said Trump "acknowledged Vice President Harris on her strength, professionalism and tenacity throughout the campaign, and both leaders agreed on the importance of unifying the country.”

President Biden also congratulated Trump over the phone on Wednesday, and invited Trump to meet with him at the White House in the near future. Biden will address the nation on Thursday.

Harris launched her presidential campaign at the end of July after Biden withdrew from the race following Democratic calls for him to drop out due to his June debate performance. Harris locked up the Democratic nomination within two weeks but had about 100 days to sway voters compared to Trump, who announced his intention to run in November 2022 and clinched the Republican nomination in mid-March.

The Harris campaign focused on helping middle- and lower-class families, making housing more affordable, bringing down the cost of health care and protecting reproductive rights. But the campaign seemed to struggle with connecting to working-class voters, with the Teamsters union declining to endorse either candidate for the first time in almost 30 years.