They said this day would never come

Take a look back at then-Senator Obama’s Iowa caucus victory, 15 years later.

On January 3, 2008, then-Senator Barack Obama won the Iowa caucuses—a historic victory that shocked the political establishment and ultimately set him on the road to the White House. Recently, President Obama sat down with six former organizers to reflect on the experience and how they’ve continued to make change in the 15 years since. Take a look:

For President Obama, January 3, 2008 remains his favorite night of his entire political career—not just because his campaign was victorious, but because seeing so many people coming out and taking part in deciding who would represent them for the first time validated his most fundamental beliefs about democracy.

During their conversation with President Obama, they talked about lessons learned from their experience in 2007 that they still carry with them, and they got a first look at some of the artifacts from Iowa that will be part of the Obama Presidential Center’s Museum collection.

This red t-shirt, which reads “I’m Fired Up” on the front, and “He’s Ready to Go” on the back, was given out to thousands of Obama supporters the night of the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner in November 2007. After receiving the shirt, supporters from each of Iowa’s 99 counties marched with then-Senator and Mrs. Obama through the streets of Des Moines and into the dinner, where reception to his speech proved to be a pivotal moment in the campaign. For the former organizers, the shirt and the dinner spoke to the feeling of comradery they felt seeing so many other supporters from across the state come together in one place for the first time, and the evidence that they weren’t alone in their work.

This “Ask Me About Barack” sticker was often worn by volunteers and staff in 2007 as a way of starting conversations with community members. For much of that year then-Senator Obama was down in the polls by sometimes as much as 30 points—as many potential caucus goers did not know who he was, those early conversations were crucial introductions to earning their support.

This poster from the 2006 Harkin Steak Fry marks the first time then-Senator Obama gave a political speech in Iowa. Originally invited to keynote the annual Democratic fundraiser because it was assumed he would not be a candidate for president, his reception at the event began to change his thinking about whether to run. Upon seeing the program recently, President Obama said, “I can’t believe anyone thought I was old enough to run the country.”

Some Obama campaign volunteers in Iowa agreed to serve as “precinct captain” in their local precinct on caucus night. Since the event was a caucus and not a primary, Iowa organizers were tasked with finding a local supporter in each of Iowa’s then-1781 precincts who would be willing to stand on behalf of then-Senator Obama’s campaign and encourage their neighbors attending the caucus to join them.

Footage of these caucus meetings in school gyms, local libraries, fire stations, and sometimes even living rooms, would often feature Obama Precinct Captains trying to convince supporters of other candidates to come over to their side after others failed to meet the viability threshold at the caucus.