Westerners Help Make US History

Last night, the Rocky Mountain West helped make history, giving 19 of the available 44 electoral votes in the 8 state region (AZ, CO, ID, MT, NM, NV, UT, WY) to the first winning African American presidential candidate in US history. President-elect Obama won Nevada (5 electoral votes), New Mexico (5 electoral votes) and Colorado (9 electoral votes). While traditional western issues were not prominent in the campaign, the West itself was center stage, with the Democratic Convention in Denver, and vigorous campaigning by both Obama and Republican candidate McCain -- a westerner with an Alaskan running mate -- all the way up to election day.

With this historic pick, the West will be in for a fresh and non-traditional take on western issues. It will be exciting to watch.