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Prominent local supporters of Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign have begun to ponder what's next for themselves and their candidate.

"I will take some time to reflect and do some studying, but in the end, I'm a Democrat," said John Overfield, an attorney who was one of the hosts for a fundraiser Clinton held in Greensboro this April.

Overfield said he expected that most of Clinton's backers will support Sen. Barack Obama in the fall campaign, even if it takes them a while to come around to it. Obama, he said, will have to make an effort to bring some hard-core Clinton supporters into his fold.

"There's no question in my mind, he's got some work to do," Overfield said.

Several people interviewed Tuesday said the longer-than-typical primary campaign left feelings raw among Democrats.

While Clinton and Obama share some policies, there are seemingly stark differences in personality, both among the candidates and their backers.

Susan Schwartz, executive director of the Cemala Foundation, said this was the first time she had become involved in a presidential campaign.

She agreed to help host Clinton's April fundraiser and was attracted to Clinton in part because she could have been the first female president.

"I would like a woman to be president, and I think she's qualified, and I don't know when the next time is to come that we'll have that chance," she said.

She credits Obama as a good speaker but says she will not automatically back his campaign this fall.

"The question is, can (Obama) really tackle these huge issues that are out there?" Schwartz said. When asked if she would choose the likely Democratic nominee or Republican Sen. John McCain, she said, "I'm in the air."

Other Clinton supporters said they would line up with Obama despite the time and emotion they've invested.

Micah Beasley, a UNCG political science student who plans to graduate in December, described himself as a longtime Clinton supporter and formed an online Facebook group for fellow students interested in her campaign.

"We thought we had this in the bag for a very long time, and for this to be the end result, it's definitely disappointing," he said.

All interviewed Tuesday said they thought Clinton would be a good choice for vice president but said she didn't need to keep running in order to make a contribution.

"If she goes back to the Senate and is effective there, that suits me fine," Schwartz said.

Contact Mark Binker at(919) 832-5549 or mark.binker@news-record.com.