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Kamala Harris
Jacquelyn Martin/AP

Kamala Harris Enters Election Day ‘a Smidge Confident’

She’s “nervous,” one person close to her says. Another says she’s not. After a final sprint, Kamala Harris believes she will win, with her team more optimistic than they’ve been in weeks — even knowing how much is uncertain.

Jacquelyn Martin/AP

PHILADELPHIA, PA — Vice President Kamala Harris knows the race is tight. She knows there’s a chance she’s about to do what no woman, certainly no Black woman, has ever done before. And she’s deeply fearful for the future of the country under her rival. Donald Trump, should she fail.

“She’s nervous,” said one operative close to her, who has witnessed her in similar moments — though nothing she’s faced before has felt quite like this. Harris is someone who typically projects confidence and holds her emotions close to the chest, but in recent days, she’s had moments where her guard came down.

“I wouldn’t call it nervous,” said one friend who has spoken with her in the last few days. “I think she doesn’t overstate her vision, in terms of winning. She doesn’t take herself there. She takes herself where she can feel the energy and she can feel the love, but I don’t think she’s embracing winning until it’s over.”