A sense of hope wafted through the crowd of volunteers at presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton's Austin headquarters grand opening Saturday afternoon.
Hundreds of people gathered to support Clinton's vie for presidency at the new office on 701 E. Ben White Blvd. It provides a place where Clinton supporters from Austin can volunteer.
Despite Clinton's eight consecutive primary and caucus losses in the past week to Sen. Barack Obama, Clinton's Texas press secretary, Deirdre Murphy, said she has high hopes for the New York senator getting the Democratic nomination.
"We'll work hard for every vote," Murphy said. "Today, volunteers are going to be signing up for the campaign and phone banking to gather support for Hillary Clinton."
Murphy said she realizes Texas is crucial in Clinton's quest for the presidency.
"Texas is really important to Hillary and the campaign," she said.
Many supporters shared Murphy's passion for the former first lady.
Clinton volunteer Sylvia Nucomb criticized Obama and praised Clinton at the event.
"Personally, I don't like the way [Obama] speaks like he is preaching, and I don't think I'm ready for a black president," Nucomb said. "The White House needs a woman to put this country back into the shape that it should be."
Clinton staffers mentored volunteers on how to call prospective supporters. Supporters received detailed instructions on correct procedures when canvassing for support via telephone.
Elliot Johnson, an architect and UT alumnus, sat on the outskirts of a group of volunteers awaiting instruction. Johnson said his decision to support Clinton stemmed from the state of the economy.
"Right now for me, the economy is very important, getting out of Iraq is very important," Johnson said. "I really want the budget to balance."
Johnson said the Democratic Party has a lot of work to do to figure out who will be its presidential representative.
"The race for the Democratic nominee will not be over on March 4," he said.
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