Excited first-timers flock to Kawananakoa

Even a 104-degree fever couldn't keep Maya Soetoro-Ng from showing up at her Democratic caucus last night.

More coverage » Obama rolls to heady victory » Chaos rules at caucuses » Newcomers and old-timers alike turn out » Neighbor island polls draw thousand

It may have kept her home from work, but she did what she could to vote and try to help Sen. Barack Obama, her half brother, get one step closer to the Democratic nomination for president.

"Way to be a good sibling," said Natasha Dator, a fellow caucus-goer and Obama supporter.

It wasn't easy, either.

As the site where three precincts were converging to hold their Democratic caucuses last night, Kawananakoa Middle School couldn't help but attract a crowd.

By 6 p.m. -- roughly an hour before the precincts officially opened -- traffic began backing up along Pauoa Avenue as eager Democrats sought parking for what some considered a "historic" vote.

As authorities closed off the parking lot, hundreds formed a line snaking its way around the sprawling Nuuanu campus.

Organizers estimated the crowd at about 2,000 people, which had its own cachet of "star power" even without Soetoro-Ng. Others who turned out at Kawananakoa included former Govs. George Ariyoshi and John Waihee.

"This is wild, and I love it," said Obama supporter Maka Rivera, 55.

Stories were similar across the state, as caucus sites were overwhelmed in a vote that overwhelmed the previous record turnout of about 4,000 in 2004.

Kawananakoa had about half that many all by itself.

Caucus organizer Jim Shon, a former state representative, said the majority of people in line appeared to be first-time caucus attendees. That was just fine with him.

"I think that it's great when this may people who haven't been involved before -- for whatever reason -- are now involved," he said.

"It's great for the Democratic Party and it's great for democracy in general," he added. "Even though it's a little testy and hot and everything else."

All precincts were scheduled to vote in the cafeteria, but by 7 p.m. officials began moving some voters to the auditorium.

Officials had some logistical problems with people not knowing where to go, but as the night wore on lines seemed to be moving faster.

"We knew this was going to be real hard because there are three districts that are descending upon this one point," Shon said, adding that despite the logistical challenges, "It's fantastic. This kind of participation is what you dream about."

Though there were many Obama supporters, most sporting buttons or stickers with the familiar "Change we can believe in" slogan, Catherine Chan-Halbrendt wasn't shy about voicing her support for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Flashing a "Women for Hillary" sign, the University of Hawaii professor worked her way up and down the line drumming up support for her candidate.

"She has the experience," Chan-Halbrendt said. "She'll be able to hit the ground running."

At a rally for Obama supporters at E&O Trading Company, a chant of "Yes, we did" came up as CNN called the race for Obama.

Konrad Ng, Soetoro-Ng's husband, said: "Tonight the night is ours, and it's a beautiful one."

Ng said his wife wanted to thank supporters but was too ill to attend the rally.

CORRECTION Thursday, February 21, 2008 » Konrad Ng is the husband of Maya Soetoro-Ng, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama's half sister. This story and one of its photo captions on originally misspelled his first name.