This afternoon, the winner of the DNCC's YouTube contest, Rich Peters, had his video played on the big screen at INVESCO Field at Mile High. Take a look at Rich's video:

After hundreds of video entries and thousands of votes, we finally have a winner!  Hailing from Iowa City, Iowa, Rich Peters’ video was the favorite video among our top five finalists.

The DNCC YouTube contest called upon voters to answer the question: “Why are you a Democrat in 2008?” Taking the question to heart, Rich discussed the issues he cares about most. Hitting on everything from the environment to health care to the war in Iraq, Rich knows that Democrats are better suited to address our nation’s greatest challenges.

This year more than ever, young people are getting involved to shape the future of our country. Take a few minutes to watch Rich’s winning video and learn why he is a Democrat in 2008.

With hundreds of thoughtful submissions from around the country, we had some tough decisions to make. After much deliberation, today the DNCC announced the five finalists for the DemConvention YouTube contest, which asked participants: “Why are you a Democrat in 2008?”

There are so many reasons to be a Democrat in 2008, and the entries we received were truly compelling. The five finalists represent a cross section of America, coming from different regions and different backgrounds. Timothy is an Iraq War veteran from Michigan, Morgan is a first time voter from Georgia, Cathrin hails from Texas, Rich is a young voter from Iowa, and Brian comes to us from Ohio.

And now it’s your turn to pick a finalist. Visit www.youtube.com/demconvention between now and August 13 to watch the five videos and vote on your favorite submission. The creator of the winning video will travel to the Convention and see his or her video played before thousands of delegates, elected officials and other guests in the Convention hall. The winner will also join Senator Obama on the campaign trail for a day as a member of the traveling press corps.

With the deadline to the DNCC YouTube contest approaching -- last call is August 1st -- we wanted to share two very special entries. New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson and Obama for America Co-Chair and former Denver Mayor Federico Peña wanted a chance to let voters know why they are Democrats in 2008. Take a look --

Gov. Richardson:

As the entries to the DNCC YouTube contest pour in, it’s clear that people from across America -- of all backgrounds -- are standing strong for Democrats in 2008.

With the chance of winning a trip to the Democratic National Convention in Denver come August – why don’t you give it a shot? Just submit a short video here explaining why you are a Democrat in 2008. Not only will your video be shown to the Convention audience including elected officials and delegates, but you will also get to travel with Senator Obama’s campaign for a day, documenting life on the campaign trail.

We have one simple question for you: why are you a Democrat in 2008?

Just create a short video explaining why you are a Democrat in your community.  Submit the video at www.youtube.com/demconvention, and you could be chosen to travel to Denver!