I live in Illinois and worked as a volunteer quite a bit on Barack Obama's 2004 Senate primary. The presidential campaign feels a lot like the Senate primary to me with late and ultimately overwhelming support for Obama.
Barack Obama was not supposed to win the Senate primary. He was clearly the most intelligent, articulate and progressive candidate in a crowded field of very good contenders, but because he didn't have the entrenched forces of the party behind him, he was considered to be a likely casualty of 'the way it is.' For most of the race, he was in third place.
Then about a month before the election (notice the similarity) he picked up steam in the polls and more importantly, in the public mood. Sentiment shifted. And in the last two weeks, a narrow victory turned into an avalanche of support with an incredible 53% victory in a seven-candidate field.
Read More