Young voters have some clout, and they used it
By MARTHA IRVINE
AP National Writer
CHICAGO (AP) -- They missed classes, skipped sleep and parties. Thousands spent countless hours instead knocking on doors to make a case for Barack Obama, the man who would be elected the next president of the United States. And many more young Obama supporters stood in line for hours to vote, some for the first time.
Tobin Van Ostern, a senior at George Washington University, knew it was all worth it as he and hundreds of other students raced down to the White House, cheering and chanting after their candidate's win Tuesday night.
"It was one of the most incredible feelings I have ever felt," said Van Ostern, the national co-director of Students for Barack Obama. "People were all so hopeful for the future."
The night was a huge moment for Obama, of course. But some say it also was a defining moment for a generation of youth who played a key role in electing him. Exit polls show that 18- to 29-year-olds voted for Obama by a more than 2-1 margin, boosted by particularly strong support from young African-Americans, Hispanics and Asian-Americans.
In his speech at Chicago's Grant Park on Election Night, the president-elect called it a rejection of "the myth of their generation's apathy."
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