History is Made in Denver: Obama Dem Nominee

New Mexico got a little extra notice in the Call of the States tonight in the Denver.

Democratic Party of New Mexico Executive Director Josh Geise told me that when the delegation arrived on the floor this afternoon one of the party's floor whips let them know they would yield the floor to Illinois who then yielded to Hillary Clinton's home state of New York.

It's unclear why New Mexico was chosen. Several politicos suggested a combination of reasons, and no one could confirm if the Governor's office was behind the move. His spokespeople did not return our calls as they may have been preparing him for his podium appearance later tonight.

The reasons offered for yielding the floor included the fact that New Mexico is in play, as a battleground state this fall, to the governor, to making sure Obama was nominated early to accommodate the national prime time audience watching on the East Coast. Another idea floated by pundits included the fact that New York is next alphabetically in the list of states. Other's speculated the DNC wanted to give Illinois the opportunity to recognize the New York Senator's call for unity and her move to release her delegates earlier in the morning.

Standing next to the New York Flag on the Pepsi Center floor Clinton told the crowd, "In faith in our party and our country let's declare together in one voice, right here and right now that Barack Obama is our candidate and will be the next President of the United States."

Clinton then moved to suspend the conventions rule and asked the secretary to select Obama by acclimation. The crowd then went wild with cheers of "Yes We Can."

Take a moment to listen to the historic moment.




Before yielding the floor, New Mexico Democratic Party Chair Brian Colon addressed the crowd in both Spanish and English. The Chairman did great job of keeping the state's secret. It would soon yield to Illnois who then yielded to New York and Hillary Clinton.



After yielding, we learned the state's roll call vote tally was 35-3 for Barack Obama. Delegates were allowed to vote at the hotel in the morning, and a source told me that a few of Clinton's pledge delegates changed their vote, on the floor, after being released by Clinton.

Colon Photo: MG Bralley