Historical presidential race complete
Before polls had even closed in California, many called the race
in favor of Barack Obama, the first African-American ever to be
elected to the highest office in the nation. Though results in many
elections were just projections at 8 p.m., final results favoring
Obama in Virginia – the first time a Democrat has carried the state
since 1964 – led many to call the race for the Senator from
Illinois.
Historical presidential race complete
Before polls had even closed in California, many called the race in favor of Barack Obama, the first African-American ever to be elected to the highest office in the nation. Though results in many elections were just projections at 8 p.m., final results favoring Obama in Virginia – the first time a Democrat has carried the state since 1964 – led many to call the race for the Senator from Illinois.
“If there is anyone out there that still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our times – there’s no question the power of our democracy – tonight is your answer,” Obama said in his victory speech in Chicago.
“Americans have sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of just individuals or a collection of red states and blue states,” Obama said. “We are and always will be the United States of America.”
He acknowledged the support of his wife, Michelle Obama “my best friend of the last 16 years, the rock of my family, the love of my life, the nation’s next first lady.” He mentioned the new puppy that would be joining his family in the White House.
“Above all I will never forget who this victory really belongs to,” Obama said to the crowd. “It belongs to you.”
Obama spoke of McCain and Palin, and said he looks forward to working with them in the coming months.
McCain conceded before 9 p.m. Pacific time, from Phoenix.
“We have come to the end of a long journey,” McCain said in the final speech of his campaign. “The American people have spoken and they have spoken clearly. A little while ago I had the honor of calling Senator Barack Obama to congratulate him on being elected the next president of the country we both love.”
McCain urged his supporters to “join me in not just congratulating him but offering our next president our goodwill and earnest effort to find ways to come together to find the necessary compromises to bridge our differences…”
Analysts are already discussing what led to Democrat victory in many states that have historically voted Republican. Early poll information showed a 17 percent increase in the number of voters under 30 who cast a ballot, and in Virginia 60 percent of voters ages 18 to 29 supported the Senator, according to poll data. In other states such as Arizona, Latino voters largely voted the democrat ticket.
By 8 p.m, more than 200 people had visited the site the local election office Web site to check on San Benito results. A note on the site stated that results would be posted after 8 p.m. when polls closed. Impatient voters received a notice shortly after that asking them to “Please be patient, ballots are now being counted……”
By 8:30 p.m. the preliminary results for San Benito County were posted at http://results.sbcvote.us, with nine of the 59 precincts counted – 2 percent of votes.
At presstime results for local San Benito County races were still outstanding. Though all the precinct votes had been counted by 6 a.m. Wednesday, absentee ballots still needed tallying.
