At the end of Barack Obama’s speech last night, roughly 20 audience members were whisked away to the bowels of the Xcel Energy Center to meet with the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. The group, assembled by St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman during the previous 24 hours, were supporters of Hillary Clinton. They included former Secretary of State Joan Grow, Minneapolis City Council members Barb Johnson and Gary Schiff, House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher and Minnesota AFL-CIO president Ray Waldron.

Mayor Coleman introduced the Illinois senator to each individual and gave a brief talk about the bitter presidential campaign, evoking the seven stages of grief. Obama then thanked everyone for showing up at the rally and stressed the importance of Democratic unity in November. “He understood that this is a raw spot for a lot of people who had been supporting Senator Clinton,” says St. Paul Rep. Erin Murphy, who was among the attendees. “He promised to reach out and listen carefully to what the Clinton supporters were talking about and what they were interested in. It was a very classy and purposeful effort to begin to unify Democrats on the ticket.”

There was at least one apostate in the group: St. Paul City Council President Kathy Lantry, who says she’s a longtime Obama believer. “I said I don’t have lie, do I?” Lantry recalls, when Coleman invited her to the event. “And they said no.”

After the meeting Obama offered to pose for individual pictures with all of the Clinton supporters. Murphy instead cajoled him into talking on the cell phone with her 17-year-old daughter, an ardent Obama supporter. “That was pretty cool,” she says.

Lantry understands that some Clinton devotees may find it difficult to switch political allegiances. “Some of the women in that room have worked their entire lives to see the day of a real possibility of a woman president,” she notes.