Live news and 2024 election results: Trump still leads in electoral votes

The first presidential election night I photographed was in 1976. It was America’s bicentennial. And it was the Big Loser. At the time, I was President Gerald R. Ford’s White House photographer and had full access to my boss. It was personal and it hurt. The president was defeated by an upstart Jimmy Carter. This happened in the early morning, and Ford relented later that day. The day Ford left office, January 20, 1977, I was also unemployed.

But I was bitten by the election night bug. And I stuck to it. In later years, I was also there when Ronald Reagan defeated Walter Mondale. Bill Clinton defeat George Bush Sr. George Bush associated with the vice president Al Gore (man, it was crazy for weeks), Bush sent John Kerry Barack Obama defeat John McCain and Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton.

Tonight, Kamala Harris will appear at her alma mater, Howard University, where I am currently based. She can address the crowd before anyone knows whether she has won or lost. But the crowd that has now gathered is already dancing and applauding. So, their atmosphere suggests that she will win, but sometimes the atmosphere lies! I really hope history is made here and that I’ll be there to take photos like the ones I’ve taken during other victories I’ve written about, rather than that nasty Big Loss from my first Big Night.