Six months ago, Judy Garland probably never would have thought she would be holding tickets to Thursday’s Obama rally in Bristol.
"I am a strong Democrat. I knew Hillary. I didn't know Barrack Obama as much," the Johnson City resident said. "My daughter told me months ago: mom, start listening to Barrack and read all you can about him."
Now that Obama is the presumptive Democratic nominee, Garland said she’s going to stick with the party and vote for the Senator from Illinois.
"If they just listen and read...I think…without a doubt...he could get her {Clinton’s} supporters," Garland said.
Others don't know if Obama can make a big difference now here. That includes those who think the traditionally Republican area will vote that way again.
"I think McCain will beat him soundly," David Hall, of Johnson City, said. "I don't think Hillary can shift a lot of her people back over. So we're just going to have to wait until November to see."
The candidate who's based his platform on change has a lot of minds to change now in the Tri-Cities. Clinton won every Tri-Cities county in the February Democratic primaries in Tennessee and Virginia.
See how your county voted in February.
In Tennessee:
http://state.tn.us/sos/election/results/2008-02/DemPresidentCounty.pdf
In Virginia:
http://www.sbe.virginia.gov/cms/documents/ElectionResults/Feb12_DemocraticPrimary.pdf
"I think the numbers are exactly the reason he's coming here," historian and former President of Emory & Henry College Dr. Charles Sydnor said. "With a couple of exceptions, he's not done really well in rural areas."
Sydnor thinks Obama is strategically coming to the Tri-Cities because it could be a "test market."
"His campaign wants to see what kind of reaction he gets as the nominee," Sydnor said.
Sydnor believes Bristol's location on the Tennessee-Virginia line will give Obama coverage in both states. Plus: he thinks there's another factor here: Virginia Governor Tim Kaine, who is backing Obama.
"Kaine has tried to do things for southwest Virginia," Sydnor said. "I suspect the Governor's office had a good deal to do with getting Obama to come here."
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