The atmosphere was like night and day at the county DFL and Republican election parties Tuesday night.

At the Mower County DFL Party Headquarters at the Austin Labor Center, the crowd erupted with emotion and cheering as they learned that Barack Obama had been elected president of the United States after clinching the California majority vote at 10 p.m.

Earlier in the evening at the AWW-Shucks Sportts Bar and Grill, where Mower County Republicans convened, the mood was somber as Democrats had grabbed several battleground states. Supporters slowly streamed in to support state representative candidate Brian Thiel.

At the DFL headquarters, George Thomas, a campaign volunteer, jumped up and down, crying and hugging after realizing the first black man had been elected president.

“My father thought this would never happen in his lifetime or in mine,” he said. “This is a very momentous occasion. This is just a great day in America.”

Marion Clennon, who was elected to her first term on the 3rd Ward of Austin City Council, beat Tony Bennett with 62 percent of votes.

“I’ve so excited for everyone,” she beamed as she cited the various local, state and national elections.

“I tried really hard to get to all the houses I could,” said Clennon, who believes she knocked on 85 percent of the homes in her ward.

“I had one lady who hadn’t voted in 20 years,” she said. “I had so many people thank me for coming to their door.”

State Rep. Jeanne Poppe of District 27B was elected to a third term, ousting Thiel with nearly 66 percent of votes.

“It’s a very exciting and historic night,” she said.

Poppe said she believes the fact so many Democratic seats were taken nationwide shows a “sign of the times.”

“People are very concerned about the economy, health care,” she said. “They want to make sure the middle class has an interest.”

Poppe believes the state’s budget deficit is their “No. 1 concern” going into the next session.

“That’s going to be very trying for our state,” she said. “A whole new perspective.”

At Sportts, Thiel tried to be optimistic as his supporters watched the nation turn “blue.”

“Jeanne Poppe and I did not conduct smear campaigns,” he pointed out. “I appreciate we had the opportunity to present ourselves. I think that’s what the voters want to hear.”

Although Thiel knocked on countless doors and mailed thousands of signed letters, he does not believe he had the support from Republicans statewide he should have had.

“We just had an awfully thin organization,” he said. “None of our money came from out of the district.

“It’s our first solo flight,” Thiel said.

He theorized that the nation leaned heavily toward Democratic candidates this election because of the struggling economy, and that Obama appeals to a “new generation.”

“When you are young, you can concur the world; you can make a difference,” he said. “And, he’s a tremendously stirring speaker.”

Thiel called the U.S. Senate race in Minnesota a “great concern.”

“You don’t want to wrestle with a pig; you both get dirty, but the pig likes it,” he said of Al Franken’s campaign.

Lewis Aase, co-chairperson of the Mower County Republicans, said after polls closed that he was still “hopeful” for Thiel, Norm Coleman (U.S. Senate candidate) and Erik Larsen (Congressional District 1 candidate).

“We’ll just have to wait and see what happens,” he said.