Their fighter pulled through

On Tuesday night, 13 worn-out patrons sharing two pizzas at Greek’s Pizzeria watched the television above their table in uncomfortable silence as the Indiana primary election results were tabulated.\nThe pizzeria patrons, all volunteers for the Hillary Clinton campaign, experienced a wide range of emotion as their “fighter” candidate lost the North Carolina primary early in the evening before just squeaking by opponent Sen. Barack Obama by two points in Indiana.\nThe evening started on a sour note, as major news outlets projected Obama as the winner in North Carolina just seconds after polls closed there. Clinton supporters like Olivia Morales said such a quick projection is unfair because, while Obama won the state, the margin may be narrower than the projection after all votes are tabulated.\n“People think he’s winning by a landslide, but he’s not,” she said. “There are different numbers being thrown around all over the place.”\nIndiana state Sen. Vi Simpson, who endorsed Clinton early in the primary race and is a delegate candidate, joined the Clinton supporters just after 9 p.m. Simpson’s appearance heightened the spirits of the dejected volunteers, who watched a double-digit Clinton lead in Indiana dwindle to less than five percent. She said a Clinton victory would help combat lingering cultural issues such as gender-based discrimination, and the small gathering was indicative of the kind of support Clinton has all around the state.\n“There are these small groups all over the state of Indiana,” she said, motioning to the crowd of about 15.\nSimpson left Greek’s just after 10 p.m., and most of the volunteers followed shortly after. Andrew Franczyk, 16, left discouraged after news outlets reported Lake County would not be releasing their votes until all the absentee ballots were counted. Francyk, though ineligible to vote, campaigned hard for his candidate all day and needed to get some sleep.\n“She could still pull it out,” he said.\nBy 10:35 p.m., announcements that Clinton would address her supporters in Indianapolis had been ticking across the television for an hour and a half. Greek’s Pizzeria was virtually empty, save four Clinton volunteers. Five minutes later, the four supporters, “who stayed out of respect for Clinton,” as one patron said, finally watched her deliver a victory speech.\nMost news outlets would not declare Clinton the winner of the Indiana primary for another three hours, but that did not deter volunteers like retired IU employee Shirley Fitzgibbons from applauding Clinton for deeming the victory “your victory.”\n“I’ll never stop fighting for you” got a standing ovation from Gibbons and fellow Clinton supporter Evelyn Lafollette. Both women said they identify with Hillary’s fighter spirit.\n“I’m a fighter for myself and for Hillary,” Fitzgibbons said.\nAfter Clinton’s acceptance speech, both women were buzzing about what to do next for her campaign. They may go down to Kentucky to help Clinton supporters there.\nThe future of Sen. Hillary Clinton’s campaign got a sorely needed boost Tuesday night that may propel it well into June, Fitzgibbons said. \n“There’s a big fight ahead, no getting around it, lots of hard work,” she said.