Living in LoCo correspondent Val Cavalheri writes about the South Riding neighborhood and has this dispatch for us.

I went early to the Loudoun County Democratic Committee’s post-election celebration at Ned Devine’s in Sterling. People who had volunteered at the polls or campaign offices came in after their shifts were over; other supporters joined them for what they all hoped would be a historic night.

Local Dems watched the returns coming in on a large TV screen at Ned Devine's. (Photo by Val Cavalheri)

Not even the three young men in front of the restaurant shouting “Nobama! Nobama!” seemed to dampen the mood of the people arriving. Within a few minutes, after everyone ignoring them, the three men left.

Signs proclaiming “Obama” and “Change” were displayed throughout the restaurant. Some local politicians, Loudoun Board of Supervisors Stevens Miller and State Senator Mark Herring, mingled with the crowd, waiting for results.

At first, with John McCain and Sarah Palin leading in both electoral and popular votes, the mood was somber, but still hopeful. As more polls began to close, cheers and clapping followed each Obama win projection cast by the news stations.

I asked Richard Wright of Leesburg how he was feeling about what was to come that evening. “Great,” he said, “in fact, I’m feeling all tickly.”

Others echoed Wright’s sentiment that the election might turn out in their favor. They were excited to see their campaigning and preparing come to fruition.

Donna McFadden came to Ned Devine's to watch the results come in. (Photo by Val Cavalheri)

Donna McFadden told me that she would not let anyone talk her into voting for any one person until she investigated both parties. She went to the Obama rally in Leesburg and to the Palin appearance a few days later. At the Palin rally, they asked her to sit behind the Alaska governor and handed her a sign. She was even featured on TV. But McFadden said she decided against the McCain/Palin ticket because “they didn’t stay on message.”

As we were speaking, the large screen TVs were muted and an announcement was made that Barack Obama “took Little River.” Wild applause followed the message. The Little River precinct in the Dulles District has long been a Republican stronghold, and many in the audience agreed with Anna Tiernan of South Riding, who said, shaking her head in disbelief, that the win in that precinct was an indication that “we just took Virginia.”