RALEIGH, N.C. – Cheers filled the room each time CNN announced results of the Democratic primaries in Florida, Ohio and North Carolina. Dozens of enthusiastic Hillary Clinton supporters gathered in the Grand Ballroom of the Historical Capital Club Building in Raleigh Tuesday, March 15.
“I think that Hillary Clinton is the best candidate to break down barriers that everyday North Carolinians are facing, from raising the minimum wage to ensuring that kids have access to quality public education,” said Micah Beasley, North Carolina Press Secretary for the Clinton Campaign. “She’ll be able to create a process where we can refinance student loans; she’ll fight to make college more affordable, equal pay for women’s work, LGBT rights and expanding civil rights with communities of color.”
Raleigh City Councilwoman Mary Ann Baldwin supports Clinton for both her policies and her character.
“I believe in Girl Power and supporting strong women for office,” Baldwin said. “I got to meet Hillary in person when she was running against President Obama, and I was torn at the time, but when I met her, I really felt that she was accomplished, smart and unlike media reports, she was warm, she was funny, she was very human. She’s just like all of us, and it was her warmth that really attracted me to her, but it was absolutely her smarts that sent me over the edge. I’ve been a Hillary supporter ever since.”
Matty Lazo-Chadderton, one of the nine hispanic delegates of North Carolina, attended the event.
“North Carolina is my home, and I’m very excited that people are very strong in civic participation, not only in politics,” said Lazo-Chadderton, a founding member and co-chair of the Hispanic Democrats of NC. “I voted for Hillary because she’s the very best person. Some people say, ‘Okay, you’re voting because she’s a woman.’ First, I’m voting for Hillary because she’s the most qualified person to keep the whole country together, and second, [it] happened to be that she’s a woman.”
The results of the North Carolina primary were announced at 7:30 p.m. Cheers and shouts of excitement filled the room. Clinton was in the lead.
Clinton was declared winner of North Carolina with 54.6 percent of voters, while Bernie Sanders earned 40.8 percent of the vote. Clinton won with 59 delegates out of North Carolina’s 107. In addition to North Carolina, Clinton won the Ohio, Florida and Illinois primaries.
– By Leah Kallam
