sentences:  In 1997, she successfully challenged the signatures of Obama's opponents in the Democratic Primary for the Illinois Senate, allowing Obama to run unopposed.Preckwinkle supported Obama, endorsing him in his campaigns for Illinois Senate in 1995–96, U.S. House in 1999–2000, and U.S. Senate in 2003–04.She was among those who encouraged Obama to make his first run for the United States Congress in 2000, and she was an early supporter when he ran in 2004.