Majority of San Diegans Voted for Obama
The county once considered a GOP stronghold "turned blue"
Wednesday, Nov 5, 2008 | Updated 6:42 AM PDT
One of the many Obama supporters gathered at UCSD on Election Night.
A majority of San Diegans filled in the circle for Barack Obama Tuesday, marking a major shift in how San Diego County has voted in past presidential elections.
With 79% of precincts reporting, Obama held 54% of the vote here in San Diego County. Challenger John McCain pulled 45% and Ralph Nader the remaining 1%.
For the first time in 24 years, the county is now home to more registered Democrats than Republicans.
At the House of Blues downtown, members of the San Diego County Democratic Party gathered.
Obama supporters cheered, cried, and hugged as the packed room watched the president-elect give his victory speech.
People took pictures, not wanting the celebration to end, just soaking up every moment of this historic night.
In Carlsbad, one Obama supporter talked about the event in relation to her soon-to-be born niece. “She will not know anything else,” she said. “She is always going to have the image in her mind that she can be the next president – female, black, Hispanic, Asian – it doesn’t matter. Nowhere else in the world can this happen but in America.”
