Campaign 2008

Obama rally draws early large crowds at the Xcel

by Laura Yuen, Minnesota Public Radio

Large crowds began to form early at the Xcel Center in hope of getting into tonight's Barack Obama rally. Media from across the nation gathered to carry the speech in anticipation of Obama declaring victory tonight after the S.D. and Montana primaries close.

St. Paul, Minn. — The hoopla surrounding tonight's rally for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama in downtown St. Paul is giving city licensing staff a taste of what they could expect from the Republican National Convention in September.

Officials say peddlers are streaming into the city's licensing department "in droves," hoping to hawk pro-Obama merchandise.

Larry Zangs handles the street vendor licenses for the city. By noon today, St. Paul granted 12 licenses to vendors selling pro-Obama T-shirts and buttons.

Zangs says he was surprised by the influx.

"Up until yesterday, I was thinking we were going to get some. But now I've kind of elevated my thoughts to say, 'Maybe it's more than some,'" said Zangs. "Prior to this, I've had individuals asking about these things, but they don't show up. This is the first time we've gotten a dozen all of a sudden, boom. Our clerks are calling me saying, 'Larry, what's going on?'"

Most of the peddlers appear to be from out of state and are following the Obama campaign.

Zangs says he expects to receive more vendor applications in the summer months leading up to the RNC.