COLUMBIA, S.C. — They’re exhilarated…and exhausted. The group of about 50 Raleigh residents drove down to South Carolina last week to  knock on doors for Barack Obama.

Saturday was E-Day. They were up early, starting at 8 a.m. in Florence before visiting Hartsville, S.C.

Paulette Hill, group organizer, said Obama was popular in the neighborhoods she canvassed.

“For the most part, people were on their way to vote for Obama or had already voted for Obama,” she said.

Now, of course, we know that Obama won South Carolina, a win pundits called critical. Brent Fagg and Lindsey Doughterty are both 20-somethings who decided Obama was their candidate. They booked it down to South Carolina to help out for the pure experience of assisting with a campaign.

“I think the people who weren’t aware of what was going on, we definitely helped them realize that they could make a difference,” Doughterty said.