The New Year arrived amid threats of recession as the stock market plunged, the home-mortgage crisis spread, the job market weakened and oil prices surged. Economic woes eclipsed the Iraq war, according to polls, and ignited passionate calls for change at the 2008 presidential election kickoff in the Iowa caucuses and at several primaries held this month.

“The time has come for every person who has seen a drop in real wages and healthcare benefits, or suffered for lack of affordable homes and jobs and educational opportunities during the Bush presidency, to demand change and prepare to vote for the candidate who has a proven worker-friendly track record,” said President Gregory Floyd. “We will be watching each candidate closely and supporting only those who earn our trust.”

Surprises dominated the first two election events. Sen. Barack Obama won the Iowa caucuses handily, beating former senators John Edwards and Hillary Clinton, who came in third. But then Clinton made a stunning comeback as the Democratic frontrunner in the New Hampshire primary on Jan. 8, winning by three points over Obama, with Edwards well behind in third.


Senators Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain get ready to debate in New Hampshire.

The early Democratic results revealed several trends and confirmed that Obama — who would become the nation’s first African-American president — and Clinton — who would become the nation’s first female president, head for the other state primaries with formidable strength and support.

The groundswell for change was evident in the Iowa caucuses, which drew a record turnout, especially among Democratic and independent voters. The New York Times reported that more than 239,000 Democrats voted in the caucuses, compared with fewer than 125,000 in 2004. By contrast, only 108,000 Republicans turned out this year. Obama’s victory in an overwhelmingly white state of Iowa also showed that race was not a factor.

On the Republican side, Arizona Sen. John McCain won the New Hampshire primary, reversing a big loss in Iowa, where he came in fifth. Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney regained some ground defeating former governor of Arkansas and Baptist minister Mike Huckabee, who had been the party’s frontrunner in Iowa. Former mayor Rudolph Giuliani took fourth place in the New Hampshire primary.

“Many people who voted in Iowa have never voted before,” notes Patricia Stryker, Local 237 Recording Secretary, director of the political action and legislation department and chair of the union’s DRIVE program. “It is especially important to support the campaigns of worker friendly candidates more than ever this year and to make sure we all vote in the primaries and the presidential election. Our country’s economy and its image have suffered during the Bush years and it’s up to union members to elect candidates who will put the interests of their families, not corporations, first.”

By the time polls close on “Super Tuesday,” Feb. 5 — when more than 20 states, including New York, hold their primaries — more than 25 states will have voted.