DURHAM, N.C. -- Virginia Gov. and Democratic National Committee chairman Tim Kaine said tonight that North Carolina surprised the nation when it voted for Barack Obama in the November presidential election.
Obama's win over Republican John McCain in North Carolina "wasn't expected," Kaine said, adding that Democrats will have to work hard to maintain the momentum from 2008, keep people engaged and add more voters to their side.
Kaine said the DNC will hire community organizers to promote grassroots politics in all 50 states. The move is a shift from the organization's previous focus on fundraising, he said.
"I can see a lot of big wins ahead if we stick together and focus on grassroots politics," Kaine said.
"I think we can do this. We can go neighbor to neighbor. We can make the kind of changes that are so hard to make in Washington."
Kaine was named chairman of the party in January by President Obama and said he will work part-time as chairman until 2010 when his term as governor ends. He spoke at the state's annual Jefferson-Jackson Day dinner to an audience of more than 640 that included top elected state leaders.
"We are here tonight happier than Democrats have been in a lot of years," said Gov. Beverly Perdue, referring to political victories last year at the state Capitol, U.S. Senate and White House.
Perdue said she was lobbying Kaine to bring the Democratic convention in 2012 to Charlotte.
Perdue also talked about somber topics -- job loss and the state's $4 billion budget deficit.
"In North Carolina, we know how to pay our bills, and on June 30 we will pay our bills," she said, referring to the end of the fiscal year. "You can take it to the bank."
Perdue said she also was worried about layoffs in the state because of the poor economy.
"I see the look of worry and anxiety on the faces of the people," she said, adding that she had been to a recent breakfast where a woman said she as laid off after decades with her employer.
"No warning. Let go with six months severance," Perdue said. "That's the world we find ourselves in."
U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan, R-N.C., who beat GOP incumbent Elizabeth Dole in November, said Democrats' popularity at the polls surged because of Obama's leadership.
"People turned out to vote and they wanted somebody to speak on their behalf," Hagan said.
Hagan said the federal stimulus package will bring $6.1 billion and 105,000 new jobs to the state.
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