To the joy of local Democrats, Senator Barack Obama claimed the presidency on Tuesday night.
The unofficial results showed Obama collecting 334 electoral votes — far more than the 270 needed to win the presidency, according to The Post-Standard. Republican candidate John McCain conceded defeat with 144 electoral votes. Obama becomes the 44th president and the first African American to hold the office.
At a celebration for Onondaga County Democrats Tuesday night, supporters greeted the results with tears and shouts of joy. Onondaga County legislator Tom Buckle shared his enthusiasm with the energized crowd.
“Ladies and gentlemen: We have taken America back. Young people all over this country will now realize that the American dream is real.” (Tom Buckle, Onondaga County legislator)
At the rally, Democrats had plenty to cheer about. Democratic candidate Dan Maffe was the unofficial winner in his race against Republican Dale Sweetland. Maffei expressed gratitude toward his supporters at the Onondaga Democrats rally.
“I’d like to thank the voters of the 25th District for making my dreams come true. Now, it’s my job to make your dreams come true.” (Dan Maffei, unofficial winner, 25th Congressional District)
In the nearby 24th Congressional District race, CNN reported that Democratic incumbent Michael Arcuri defeated his Republican challenger Richard Hanna by 800 votes with over 90% of precincts reporting.
Also, in a New York State Senate race, incumbent Democrat Dave Valesky defeated Republican Jim DiStefano. At the Onondaga rally, Valesky lead the crowd in a chant:
“Before tonight, it was ‘Yes, we can.’ Tonight, ‘It’s ‘Yes, We Did! Yes, We Did! Yes, We Did!’” (Dave Valesky, New York State Senate, 49th District)
For Democracywise, I’m Boris Sanchez.
(Boris Sanchez is a senior majoring in broadcast journalism and international relations.)
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