Forsyth County in North Carolina votes Democrat

The 2008 presidential election was a historic event and one that the state of North Carolina for the first time since 1976, voted for a Democrat for the presidency of the United States.

Before Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama carried the state in November's election, Jimmy Carter was the last Democratic nominee to get the nod, eight terms ago.

According to the Forsyth County Democratic Party, the county supported Republican George W. Bush in both 2000 and 2004.

In 2008, Obama carried the state, and of the 100 counties in North Carolina, Forsyth County was one of his supporters.

Many young voters and black voters made the difference this election. Obama did not campaign at Winston-Salem State University; however his wife spoke on campus this past April.

Senior Byron Williams was a first-time voter in this election. Williams proudly admitted that he voted for Obama.

"I voted for Obama because he just made more sense to me than McCain did. Obama really talked to the people. I think the students on our campus played a big part in the results, " Williams said.

"A lot of people came out and supported, especially with the early voting."

Williams was an early voter at the Albert H. Anderson Center on campus.

The impact of these first-time voters changed the county vote tally. There were also some voters who were former supporters of the Bush Administration [in both elections], who voted for Obama.

"I just lost all faith in the Republican Party," said Dana Alston, a Winston-Salem resident.

"There are several things that changed my perspective when I went to vote this time around. If McCain gets in there, then it's going to be much of the same. I cannot afford that. I'm ready for change, and I think, no I know that Obama is going to bring about that change."

Some of the things she said that changed her mind were the state of the economy, healthcare concerns, and foreign policy.

"I've been a Republican voter most of my life, and the second time I voted for Bush I was on the fence," Alston said.

"I voted for him because he did a good job handling adversity after the 9/11 tragedy, and I thought that it was going to get a lot better before it got worse. But the opposite happened. I want the troops home, and I think it's terrible that so many people, regardless of their race, people period, keep losing their homes and jobs. I think Obama can stop the bleeding a lot faster than McCain can."