Within hours of the first polls closing, Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain conceded to his rival, Democrat Sen. Barack Obama, in Phoenix Tuesday night.

Flanked by his wife Cindy and his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, and her husband Todd, McCain congratulated his Democratic rival, and reaffirmed his patriotism and commitment to the country.

“Today, I was a candidate for the highest office in the country I love so much, and tonight, I remain her servant,” McCain told supporters.

As predicted, Illinois voted for Obama. Illinois Rep. Jim Durkin, chairman for John McCain’s campaign in Illinois, said the campaign never put much effort into winning here. Instead, they focused efforts on surrounding states.

Durkin said the economy was McCain’s downfall.

“The Republicans were unable to recover from the meltdown on Wall Street. That was blamed on the Republicans, and it was shown in the polls,” Durkin said.

Despite a lack of effort from the national campaign, local Republicans did their fair share to win the state. Mary Simons, chairwoman of the DeKalb County Republican Central Committee, said they made phone calls and placed over 1,000 signs in support of the Republican ticket.

“He stuck to his convictions, and he was determined to win the campaign the way he wanted to do it,” Simons said.

She said she would like to see Obama govern from the center and reach across the aisle.

Durkin said Obama now has to fulfill the many promises he has made. Others, however, were less than conciliatory.

“I’m not looking forward to Obama’s Socialist economic policies and his lack of foreign policy experience in a very dangerous world,” said Andrew Bogda, president of the College Republicans.

Business owner and Republican Merche Robles claims the Democrats stole the election with help from the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN).