|
By Johnna Villaviray-Giolagon, Columnist
HELENA, Montana: The sprawling state of Montana
has won itself a prominent spot on the political map of the United
States following what appears to be a decisive Democratic primary
election Tuesday in favor of Illinois Senator Barack Obama.
“It’s our moment,” said Chelsea Hillman,
30, a preschool teacher who turned up with scores of other Obama
supporters at a victory party in downtown Helena.
“Helena worked really hard in the campaign and
in support of Obama.”
Informal initial results indicate that Obama
clinched the Democratic Party nomination after scoring a slim
victory in Montana, the last state to hold a primary.
It marked the end of a colorful 16-month race to
choose the Democratic bet against Republican Sen. John McCain.
The Miller’s Crossing bar in downtown Helena
was packed with Obama supporters and volunteers, some with their
toddlers and young children in tow and sporting Obama T-shirts. A
buffet table was set in front of a huge TV screen tuned in to
Obama’s victory speech in St. Paul.
“This is really exciting. I haven’t seen
this much interest [in the primary] in years,” said avowed
Democrat Bruce Schwartz, 51.
Montana has traditionally been a political
lightweight compared to the more populous states with more delegates
to the Democratic national convention. It is in the convention that
the party will officially announce its presidential candidate.
With a land area of 376,978 square kilometers
but with a population of roughly 80,000, Montana is unable to
heavily influence the result of elections.
Until this one.
“It’s attracted a lot of attention because
usually it [primary nomination] is over by [the time Montana
votes],” Montana Secretary of State Brad Johnson explained to
visiting foreign journalists.
This time, the primary results in Montana were
not a token election but truly marked the end of primary season.
Initial and unofficial primary results showed
Obama clinched 59 percent of the votes cast compared to New York
senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s 39 percent.
Barely an hour after polls closed at 8 p.m.
Tuesday, Montana party chairman Dennis McDonald announced the
unanimous support of all their delegates to Obama come the national
convention to be held in Denver this August.
“It’s an honor for me to announce that every
superdelegate in Montana honors the vote of the ordinary people and
unanimously have pledged our support to Sen. Obama,” McDonald told
the jubilant crowd in Miller’s Crossing.
Obama’s victory here has earned him the number
of delegates needed to secure the party nomination.
To some Obama supporters, the end of primary
season has brought a kind of closure.
“We can be united [again] now,” Schwartz
said as he watched the rest of the crowd from his corner of the bar.
The tight race has raised doubts on the
Democratic Party’s strength against the Republicans. Many of
Clinton’s supporters have openly said previously that they will
not vote for Obama in the November general elections if he wins the
nomination.
“I think they’ll still vote Democrat,”
Schwartz said. “Essentially, we all want the same thing, and
that’s change.”
Hillman shares the belief that Obama’s victory
will not split the Democratic ticket.
“People are ready for change. In the end,
that’s what people will think about [when they choose the next
President],” she explained.
To those in Miller’s Crossing, Obama appears
to represent the change they want to see in Washington.
“He’s what America needs, it’s phenomenal.
He’s [Obama] honest and doesn’t run with the pack,” said a
giddy Karen Dimmitt, 61. “He’s not status quo and people see
that.”
In the frenzied end-game, Clinton said for the
first time she may be ready to serve as Obama’s vice president, in
a phone call with lawmakers from her New York state, a staffer with
the New York delegation told Agence France-Presse.
Clinton congratulated Obama on an
“extraordinary” race but refused to bow out, demanding respect
for the nearly 18 million people who voted for her and leaving no
doubt that she considered herself the best potential president.
-- With AFP
|
