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By Anna Oakes, in the High Country Press, 6 Nov. 2008:
At the news that Sen. Barack Obama was elected president of the United
States, Heather Owens, 26, erupted into joyful screams, closing her
eyes, clasping her hands together and lurching back and forth in
excitement.
She joined a crowd of about 350 to 400 people at the Dragonfly Theater
and Pub in Boone, where the Watauga County Democratic Party hosted an
Election Night Victory Party for any who wished to attend. The theater
projected television election coverage onto a large screen, and
patriotic balloons, Obama T-shirts and plenty of campaign stickers and
buttons added color to the large room.
The venue quickly filled with election night spectators buzzing about
the Democrats’ chances in local, state and national elections,
rehashing a long campaign and discussing the possibility of witnessing
history being made —t he election of the first black American
president. Many were confident and seemed to eagerly anticipate
victory, while some attendees admitted they anxiously dreaded the
possibility of another defeat.
“Oh it was wild — there were so many people there,”
said Diane Tilson, chair of the Watauga County Democratic Party.
“It was a standing-room-only crowd. There were folks there that I
hadn’t seen in a very long time — old and young, babies,
everyone was there.”
By around 8:30 p.m., so many people filled the room that organizers
asked everyone to move the theater’s tables and chairs over to
the walls so more people could fit inside.
While election results flashed across the screen, several attendees
followed other races on their laptops, and campaign volunteers kept a
tally of incoming poll results on a dry-erase board. Before the
presidential race was called, a local Democratic Party volunteer
announced that organizers had already collected enough donations to pay
the Dragonfly’s rental fee.
And fairly early on, the crowd of campaign volunteers, supporters and
onlookers got the sense that the election was indeed going to go their
way. With the announcement of every projected winner came shouts,
laughter, high-fives, embraces and fists pounding the air. The
atmosphere was electric with elation.
State Sen. Steve Goss and N.C. Rep. Cullie Tarleton stepped onto
chairs, held their arms in the air and received congratulations from
the crowd for their successful reelections.
When the news commentator announced Obama’s victory and the words
flashed across the screen, it could have been the Super Bowl, or the
World Series, or a national championship. For several minutes, his
supporters at the Dragonfly cheered and cheered, shed tears, and hugged
and kissed each other. They chanted “Obama” in unison and
reveled in the historic moment.
“When Obama was declared the winner, everyone was absolutely ecstatic,” Tilson said.
A good portion of the crowd, Tilson included, cleared out after the
presidential announcement, rushing to get home for Obama’s
acceptance speech. But one or two hundred stayed to see and hear the
speeches on the big screen. They watched as Sen. John McCain took the
stage in Arizona for his concession speech, and — for the most
part — applauded his statements.
The most quiet moment of the evening came when Obama spoke, as the
crowd listened intently to his words. Many wiped tears from their
cheeks.
“I’m sure there wasn’t a dry eye in the house,” said Tilson.
Needless to say, the local Democrats are pretty pleased with the 2008 election.
“We’re pretty ecstatic,” Tilson said. “We
needed change and … we really feel like Barack Obama is going to
make that happen.
“It was a very rewarding campaign, and it couldn’t have
turned out any better, unless we had won all of the seats,” she
added. “I don’t think anybody could have asked for better
results.”
Bricca Sweet was in Statesville, away from the Dragonfly party, but she
had a good night, too. For many months, Sweet has worked as an Obama
campaign organizer in the High Country. She’s a military veteran
who in recent years switched her party affiliation from Republican to
Democrat. During the campaign, she worked closely with the Watauga
Democratic Party as well as the College Democrats at ASU.
“I am thrilled that the nation I wore the uniform for is
fulfilling its promise to become what it can be — to become what
we believe we are,” Sweet said. “I’m filled with a
sense of hope that I haven’t really felt since the
’70s.”
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