A ballroom on the third floor of the Wyndham Hotel in downtown Phoenix was the stage for the Arizona Democratic Party’s election-night festivities.

Downstairs in the lobby, nearly 1,000 Barack Obama supporters surrounded the televisions in the lobby and a tiny hotel bar, cheering as their candidate was declared the projected winner in New Hampshire.

As he brought a high school-aged girl’s bags from a car to the hotel lobby, 42-year-old bellhop Arnold Shivers told the girl, “This is history in the making.”

At 8:59 p.m., CNN projected Obama the winner of the 2008 election.

As news of the prediction swept through the hotel, supporters sprinted to the ballroom to see for themselves.

Stevie Wonder’s “Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours” filled the room as supporters jumped, cheered, held signs and began to chant what they had been waiting to chant since the campaign began nearly two years ago: “Yes, we did.”

Jerome Holt of Phoenix, a self-described “hustla,” was also thrilled with the result.

“He’s gonna fix all the s--- that Bush f---ed up,” said Holt, 20. “His skin is colored; he gets it. He’s gonna bring people up. I’m happy to be alive, man.”

Around 9:15 p.m., Sen. John McCain conceded the presidency to Obama. He offered support and told the nation that tomorrow Obama will be his president too.

The crowd at the Wyndham cheered as the defeated candidate thanked his family and supporters.

As McCain thanked Gov. Sarah Palin, 20-year-old journalism student Maura Gaughan yelled, “That’s why you lost.”

Gaughan said the possibility of Sarah Palin being president is terrifying.

“John McCain lost because he picked a completely unable vice president,” she said.

Pete Rodriguez, a 41-year-old electrical engineering undergraduate, said he has sympathy for McCain.

“I respect him as a senator and as a veteran,” he said.

At about 10:15 p.m., Obama took the stage in Chicago to thank his supporters, family and his opponent.

In Phoenix, his supporters went silent for the first time all night.

In all directions supporters could be seen crying, hugging and staring at the two giant screens next to the stage, where Obama spoke of hope and change.

Laz Hall, a 44-year-old woman from Glendale whose tears began the moment Obama took the stage, said that as an African-American she was proud to see Obama elected president.

“He is intelligent, and he raised his family and goes against what the average African-American male has become,” Hall said. “He is not in jail, he is educated and he is raising a great family. I’m just so glad to see what I almost thought would never happen.”

Juanita Copland, a 66-year-old grandmother from New Orleans, said this election meant the world to her.

“This election represents every grandmother who grew up in New Orleans, sitting in the back of a bus,” she said. “To come this far and get to vote for a black man for president is something truly special.”

Copland attended the event with four of her grandchildren, each holding signs saying things like “Colored bathroom” and “Colored seating in back.”

“I always want these kids and all kids to remember the sacrifices we made for this to happen,” Copland said.

Reach the reporter at jaking5@asu.edu.