NBC BREAKING NEWSIt's being hailed by organizers as the most successful campaign event in UC Davis history as a massive crowd of more than 11,000 college students and community members flocked to a hastily organized campaign event featuring former President Bill Clinton at the university's basketball arena Tuesday night.
Flanked by several state leaders on stage, Clinton received a rousing ovation from the students and community members that packed the ARC Pavillion to hear the nation's 42nd President deliver a stump speech on behalf of his wife, Democratic Presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton who spent the day campaigning in neighboring Nevada.
"All of our elections are about the future," Pres. Clinton said during his speech. "And if you look around this sea of faces tonight, you see that America is not a race, America is not a creed, America is not even a physical place, America is an idea and you're all a part of it."
The former President touched on all topics during his 40-minute speech: healthcare, the environment, foreign policy. But it was higher education and financial assistance that received the most cheers from the student audience -- many of whom spent hours waiting in a mile-long line that snaked around a soccer field and spilled out to a sidewalk behind the auditorium.
Organizers of the event said the crowd was estimated to be around 8,000 people. Another 3,500 people were turned away.
Many waited for hours in the cold for a chance to hear the former President speak on behalf of his wife. Those who were at the head of the line reportedly waited for five hours. But those who found themselves towards the end of the line were turned away because the auditorium had been filled to capacity.
Those who waited outside reported a riot-like atmosphere, with people cutting and thousands of students rushing into the building.
The impressive number of people coming to hear Clinton speak even surprised organizers of the event who originally estimated the crowd to linger between 2,000 and 3,000 people. What's more, the event had been hastily thrown together -- it wasn't until late Tuesday evening when Clinton's visit to UC Davis had been officially declared by the Hillary Clinton campaign staff.
For more:
KCRA-TV Sacramento's Coverage of the Clinton Visit
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With less than a week away from Super Tuesday, it's going to be a photo-finish in California -- the state that will most likely end up deciding who goes on, and who drops out of the contentious 2008 race for the Presidency. 
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With less than three weeks to go, it's going to be a photo finish in 20 states on Super Tuesday. We'll start the countdown during a special edition of NBC News and Meet The Press. Join Fabian Gonzalez and the NBC News team as we bring you the very latest from the front lines of what is the closest election in recent history. What will it mean for California voters? And will old skeletons come back to haunt some Presidential hopefuls?
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More on the Presidential candidates as Michigan, South Carolina and Nevada get ready to cast ballots in their primaries. Will the momentum Hillary picked up in New Hampshire carry her to other victories? Or, will Barack Obama bounce back to grab the Democratic nomination? On the Republican side, will John McCain, "the comeback kid" have enough money to continue his campaign across America? And now that New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson calls it quits, who on the Republican side is most likely to throw in the towel as well? NBC News reporters are on the campaign trails with the candidates as the race to Tsunami Tuesday intensifies.
