Emotions at parties' headquarters remain high

By COURTNEY ROQUE

A small, close-knit group of Democrats met Tuesday at party headquarters in downtown Fresno, confident their candidate will be the next president, in spite of disappointing poll results early in the evening.

“We haven’t had too much to cheer for so far,” said Vincent Lavery, co-chair for the Fresno County Democratic party.

Although the earliest results did not generate much excitement among those Democrats gathered at the headquarters, Richard Martinez’s confidence was still firmly intact. Martinez is the regional director for the Central Valley Democratic party.

“If we pull the top of the ticket— John Kerry—[Republicans] will try to say whatever the hell they want, but we’ll be looking so good it’s ridiculous,” Martinez said. He had been at the headquarters since 9 a.m. and was anticipating a long night ahead. He said although he was tired, he was enthusiastic about seeing the election results.

“Obviously we’re optimistic. The things that are breaking right now are happening exactly the way they were supposed to happen,” Martinez said.

He said that although the poll results can seem discouraging early on, the results of many states’ electoral votes aren’t known until much later.

“It could have been ugly news early, but it’s not,” Martinez said.

A wave of cheers and applause spread across a banquet hall across town, as optimistic Fresno Republicans chanted “Four more years!” in response to George W. Bush winning the crucial state of Florida.

Florida was the focus of much controversy four years ago, during the 2000 election, when presidential ballots had to be recounted. The results of the presidential race were delayed for weeks.

Michael Zuccolillo screamed over the noise of the crowd that he is “100 percent confident” Bush will win the race, considering the president’s victory in Florida. He said the Fresno Republicans’ celebration was the culmination of several weeks of hard work locally and nationally.

“It’s jubilant!” Ethie Radanovich said of the mood at the Republican’s gathering.

“We think [Bush] has been a great president, and so we’re hopeful that he’s going to be re-elected,” Radanovich said.

Radanovich’s husband, a state congressman, shared her upbeat sentiments.

“It looks like the mojo is with President Bush,” said George Radanovich. He was encouraged by the victory in Florida and was anticipating another win in Ohio.

“I think we’ll see a conclusion tonight. That is my hope,” he said.

As of late Tuesday night, a winner was still not known, but supporters of both major candidates remained optimistic.

“That’s the amazing thing about American politics—you never know what’s going to happen until election night. It’s when the people speak,” George Radanovich said.

--Nyrie Karkazian and Martha Martinez contributed to this article.