As North Carolina awaited election results Tuesday, a pug with an Obama pin on his collar waddled down Parrish Street nonchalantly.
He joined several hundred of his fellow Obama-faithfuls at the Barack N' Roll election party hosted by Durham for Obama.
As election results flooded in from state and national races, Durham residents gathered in a four-block swath of downtown to wait and later, to celebrate.
"I wanted to be in the thick of Durham when [Sen. Barack] Obama wins," said partygoer Ruth Eckles around 10 p.m. "This is an Obama kind of town."
Despite persistent rain, a large crowd huddled near the corner of Main and Corcoran Streets to watch a live feed of the returns on a two-story inflatable television. They waved signs and posters and in one case, a life-size cutout of Obama himself.
Others spilled out of nearby restaurants, where patrons were packed so tightly it was standing room only.
Attendee Steve Hallman clutched a blue-and-white striped umbrella as he kept his eyes glued to the victory speech of Kay Hagan, the Democratic Senator-elect who unseated incumbent Elizabeth Dole.
"I wish it weren't raining, but it's fine, it's all fine," he said.
And he was not the only one taking an optimistic view. Even before Obama's victory was projected by national news outlets around 11 p.m., the mood on Main Street was ecstatic.
"There's hope here that the country can right itself, that Obama will be more than just another faceless politician, that he'll really bring a change," said Durham resident Tanya Olson as she pulled the strings of her hooded sweatshirt tighter against the rain.
Down the block, vendors hawked Obama merchandise from tents and a second monitor projected a slideshow of Durham for Obama volunteers.
Surveying the scene, Obama supporter Tony Leak said he felt a solidarity with the crowd.
"The world is struggling," he said, "We're all here for a change."
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