Obama’s victory excites Columbia supporters

By Nikki Tekkei
June 4, 2008

Jefferson City residents Betty and Steve Markway enter The Blue Note on Tuesday for a Democratic primary watch party hosted by Obama for America. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., clinched the Democratic nomination for President Tuesday.

On Tuesday at about 9:15 p.m., U. S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. stood before a crowd of thousands in St. Paul, Minn. and declared victory in the 2008 Democratic presidential primary.

“Tonight we mark the end of one historic journey with the beginning of another, a journey that will bring a new and better day to America. Because of you, tonight I can stand here and say that I will be the Democratic nominee for the president of the United States of America,” Obama said in a televised speech broadcast on MSNBC.

At that precise moment, over 400 miles away, around 200 of the presidential hopeful’s supporters, watching the speech on MSNBC, erupted in cheers inside The Blue Note in downtown Columbia. Throughout the night, supporters and interested citizens shuffled into the building, and enthusiasm slowly grew while everyone waited in anticipation of the results and Obama’s speech.

Obama’s Tuesday win in Montana, the last of the primaries, set him over the required delegate count to secure his spot as the presumptive Democratic nominee, many media outlets projected.

Support for the freshman Illinois senator has grown steadily throughout the Columbia area. As campaign staffers arrived in Columbia, local organizations began mobilizing and working to build his base in the area.

“It’s been a very grassroots effort,” State Rep. Judy Baker, D-Columbia, said. “It’s been organic in that sense.”

Though he said some Columbia residents initially had concerns regarding Obama’s candidacy, ranging from a fear of his assassination to the unfamiliarity of his name, Boone County Democratic Central Committee Secretary Scott Cristal cited the more progressive nature of the area and a desire for change as reasons why Obama has been successful is gaining supporters.

Seventeen-year-old Taylor Maness, a Rock Bridge High School student who has been involved with the campaign for months, echoed Cristal’s comments.

“Almost everybody has a desire for change in Columbia,” Maness said. “It’s him, himself. It’s his message that we can do better, and we can change politics. We can give hope to not only people in America, but people around the world.”

About five months remain until the general election, but Columbia residents dedicated to aiding Obama’s candidacy have no plans to slow down. Voter registration drives, canvassing, phone calls and booths at the Twilight Festival are continuing to keep voters updated on everything going on with the campaign. And despite the fact that U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., has yet to officially concede the delegate race to Obama, Columbia Democrats are already working to bring the party back together.

“We have to make sure in the next few weeks everyone feels like they’re being treated fairly,” Baker said.

While The Blue Note crowd remained fairly loud and excited, during the end of Obama’s victory speech they became quiet and listened to his words.

“The journey will be difficult,” Obama said. “The road will be long. I face this challenge with profound humility and knowledge of my own limitations, but I also face it with limitless faith in the capacity of the American people.”

Share on Facebook

Obama’s victory excites Columbia supporters

More June 4, 2008 Outlook Stories

Most recent Outlook Stories