Obama Campaign Opens 20 New Field Offices In Virginia
Here's another real sign that the Obama campaign is dead serious about making a real play for Virginia.
The Obama campaign plans to open 20 new field offices in the state -- and at least five of them are in very red areas where Dems have traditionally feared to tread, Obama's Virginia director of communications, Kevin Griffis, confirms to me.
The Obama team is setting up shop in Winchester and Bristol, both of which are in areas that voted for Bush in 2004 by at least 25 points. Camp Obama is also adding an office in Harrisonburg, which went for Bush by 13 and is in the reliably-red Shenandoah Valley.
There will also be a new office in Castlewood, which is in the coalfields near West Virginia and Kentucky and went for Bush by eight, and in Martinsville, whose surrounding county went for Bush by 13 points.
Obama's Virginia campaign director, Mitch Stewart, says he's hoping to turn the network of field offices into the foundation of an all-out bottom-up effort in the state. "The new offices represent the frame upon which our neighbor-to-neighbor, grassroots campaign will be built," Stewart says.
It's getting interesting.
Comments (62)
Man, it's been a great day. After a couple weeks sort of laying low, it's great to see Obama on the offensive today.
July 16, 2008 2:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
Greg,
The top of the previous post has a link to itself rather than to its predecessor. This is a common bug.
July 16, 2008 2:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
the permalinks are on the titles -- that what you mean?
July 16, 2008 3:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
This is what I got for a while:
It may be a cache error on my side, but I've seen it happen before.
July 16, 2008 3:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
Here's a screen grab of another example.
July 16, 2008 3:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm starting to think McCain may not know what hits him.
July 16, 2008 3:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
The political strategist in me thinks that this is an extremely shrewd move on Obama's part - and the Hip Hop part of me, who proudly claims 757 as my area code, is loudly yelling "VA Represent!"
July 16, 2008 3:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
Float like a bomber, sting like a bomber...
Harrisonburg is where JMU is located, right? And given that it is right on the border, I'm guessing the Bristol office would share media markets with the Blacksburg area and parts of Eastern TN...?
Rah, Rah, Ree... kick 'em in the knee...
Rah, Rah, Rass... kick 'em in the other knee...
July 16, 2008 3:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
JMU is in Harrisonburg, but it's a small enough school that it doesn't change the overall Republican-ness of the area.
Bristol is too far southwest to get media from Blacksburg.
that said, Sen. Obama has had a field office in Roanoke since way before the primary, and is planning to open on in Salem. (or at least there's an official campaign volunteer who's looking for a space to lease here.)
i think there's a lot of room for him to make headway here. he didn't really contest the primary here, outside of the City of Roanoke, and the Blacksburg/Christiansburg area (where Virginia Tech is), so Sen Clinton won big in most places. but alot of the people i know who are conservative republicans are just fed up with Bush, not motivated to vote for McCain, and not so repulsed by Obama that they'll vote against him.
July 16, 2008 6:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
While we political junkies (justifiably) handwring over the media, the campaign concentrates its resources on the ground.
July 16, 2008 3:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
So would this suggest that Obama doesn't have fundraising problems, as everyone from the Wall Street Journal to readers at Election Central keep saying?
July 16, 2008 3:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm beginning to suspect that the WSJ story was a leak to lower expectations, so that when the real figures come out, the story will be that they did better than expected, rather than that they did worse than McCain's big-money bundlers.
In any case, while the offices will cost a significant amount going forward, they're taking advantage of a massive army of volunteers here in Virginia, as well as nearby Maryland and DC. We already had a lot of people before Primary Day in February, and it's only been growing since then.
July 16, 2008 3:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
Let McBush scramble. Can someone give a link to a good site with current electoral college dispersions?
July 16, 2008 3:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
Nate Silver does polling aggregates with statistical adjustments based on demographics and past turnout. He's semi-famous for predicting the Super Tuesday outcome more accurately than any actual pollster.
July 16, 2008 3:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm lookin'for ya' electoral map site with current spread as per the polls. Post the wed address please. Thnx.
July 16, 2008 3:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
Uh, alright: http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/
Alternately, there's the less thorough: http://www.electoral-vote.com
July 16, 2008 3:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
thnx bro
July 16, 2008 3:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/
Election 2008 Obama McCain Spread
RCP National Average 47.1 42.3 Obama +4.8
Favorable Ratings +22.8 +18.0 Obama +4.8
Intrade Market Odds 64.9 30.2 -
Electoral College Obama McCain Toss Ups
RCP Electoral Count 255 163 120
No Toss Up States 304 234 -
Battleground States Obama McCain Spread
Michigan 48.7 41.0 Obama +7.7
Florida 43.8 46.0 McCain +2.2
Pennsylvania 48.0 40.3 Obama +7.7
Ohio 47.3 42.8 Obama +4.5
North Carolina 42.5 46.3 McCain +3.8
Virginia 44.3 45.0 McCain +0.7
Iowa 49.7 42.3 Obama +7.4
July 16, 2008 3:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
FUN FACT
Obama and Kaine's moms are both from El Dorado, Kansas.
July 16, 2008 3:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
O god, I really feel sorry for both of those women. I've been by El Dorado many times and it is - unredeemable.
Apologies to any Kansans I offended; my mother was born in Smith Center, which used to be a really charming town like Mayberry without the southern accents or sensibility.
July 16, 2008 3:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
Don't forget that Obama kicked off his general election campaign in Bristol, Virginia.
July 16, 2008 3:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
Mark Warner introduced him.
James Carville when interviewed on ABC TV a few days ago, promoted Mark Warner as Obama's VP.
This news reinforces the notion that Warner could yet be asked by Obama. (Warner's commitment to Virginia may be have to expanded.)
July 16, 2008 3:39 PM | Reply | Permalink
That was Bristow, which is on the southern outskirts of heavily-blue Northern Virginia. It's not as blue as say, Alexandria or Arlington, but I wouldn't go as far as to call it "red."
Bristol is deep in the southwest corner, near the 3-way border with Tennessee and Kentucky. It's about as red as red gets in the Commonwealth.
July 16, 2008 3:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
I believe he went to both Bristol and Bristow to kick off his campaign.
July 16, 2008 4:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
yes, he went to BristoL, and to BristoW.
he went to Bristol first, and the other place later that day. it was kinda a big deal around here.
July 16, 2008 6:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
Obama is opening his western NC office tonight in asheville, nc by having its reception for donors. I'm psyched, FIRED UP and READY TO GO!!
July 16, 2008 3:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
WEEEEEEEEEEEE!! lay low barack!! lay low until late september! mcbush won't know what him him!
July 16, 2008 3:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
Obama has put the South back in play.
How exactly is he like Michael Dukakis, Or John Kerry again?
Thank you Howard Dean for suggesting the 50 State strategy, and thank you Barack Obama for carrying it out.
I am also FIRED UP, AND READY TO GO!
July 16, 2008 3:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
BAM! Your move Gramps!
July 16, 2008 3:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
Williamsburg, VA is opening an office this week.
July 16, 2008 3:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
Where? I heard they only have a place to make phone calls--they're still looking for an office...
Williamsburg/James City County is a key swing area. Went big time for Bush in 2004, but I think it went for Kaine in 2006. The military is big here, so McCain has the advantage in the tidewater VA region, imho.
July 16, 2008 5:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hasn't he seen the Rasmussen tracking poll from the other day that has the race tightening? That shows us what's really going on.
July 16, 2008 3:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
I've lived in some pretty deep red spots in the Commonwealth and I never thought I'd see a Democratic presidential candidate take a legitimate shot at Virginia in my lifetime. I'm not holding my breath until I see some poll numbers a little closer to November, but this is awesome nonetheless.
July 16, 2008 3:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
Tim Roemer doing his best to ape Terry McAuliffe for Mika Brezinski predicted that his home state of Indiana would fall.
July 16, 2008 4:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
He'd better have some decent security at those stations. There's some pretty hard-core 'necks and bigots in those rural areas. Quite a bit of latent racism in some of those counties.
July 16, 2008 4:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
Until you mentioned it, his Secret Service detail never thought about protecting him. They were planning on staying in their hotels and letting Obama drive himself around.
July 16, 2008 4:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
Newbie here and I needed that laugh today...TY
July 16, 2008 6:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
I take issue with the "Deep Red Virginia Will Be Site Of Obama Field Offices" text of link on TPM home.
Bush won VA by just about 300,000 out of 6 million total cast, if I remember correctly. That makes it a squeaker of a red state in my book. With a long tradition of electing Democratic Senators and Governors, it's definitely more of a purple state, save for a more-strongly red period in the 90s with that moron governor gilmore who kept wanting to declare "white people's day" to honor the oft-overlooked contributions of europeans to Virginia history.
Undoubtedly there remain deep red corners in the state, especially to the west where I have many folkers, but the eastern more-urban side tends to go Dem/left when feeling more sensible.
I think Obama has a real shot at taking this purple state.
July 16, 2008 4:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
Lastly, at least in the 70s and 80s, Virginia prided itself on not being part of the Deep South, preferring to focus on its Revolutionary War history over the Civil War nostalgia of states like Georgia and so forth. I think that sensibility is coming back after an embarrassing period in the 90s when Ollie North almost won a Senate seat.
July 16, 2008 4:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
And let's not forget that in 1989 Virginia elected Democrat Doug Wilder, the first African-American governor of any U.S. state.
July 16, 2008 5:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
This is similar to what the Obama campaign is doing in Ohio.
Show up in the red areas, and work to cutback on the McSame-Repub margins there, while rolling up big margins in the urban areas.
July 16, 2008 4:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
The Campaign for Change Statewide Headquarters is opening in Tampa at 4:30 P.M. today. Obama's sister is having a meeting in Ybor City tomorrow night and in Largo for educators Friday morning. Looks like a blitz.
July 16, 2008 4:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
I've been there--Ybor City is fun, great food. Maya should be popular there!
July 16, 2008 5:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm holding my nose saying this....
This is the only way Obama's going to beat McSame, and it's a good plan. I live in Virginia, and except for Northern Virginia and the Tidewater area the repubs have a complete lock on things (think: Jim Gilmore). That's changing, as the population changes, but we're not "there" yet.
I'll hand it to your guy - he's doing all the right things.
Leaving now to go throw up....
July 16, 2008 4:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
It's not the only way.
I would say the Iowa + Colorado + New Mexico scenario is the most likely scenario for a close win.
After that, Iowa + Virginia, and after that, Ohio.
The obvious strategy, of course, is just to push all three paths.
July 16, 2008 4:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
You've left out some deep blue cities like Richmond and Roanoke. While the surrounding counties are more conservative, those cities are reliably Dem.
July 16, 2008 4:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
I need to add a PS to my previous post, to show an example of how things are changing. Recently Jim Gilmore hosted a town-hall meeting in Winchester. One citizen showed up.
Things are changing, and Obama does have a chance here.
July 16, 2008 4:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
Polls have Virginia as a dead heat.
July 16, 2008 4:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
Fortunately, it looks like Gilmore is politically dead in the state. The fact that he just barely squeaked out the Republican nomination is evidence of that. However, that's not necessarily a sign that the state's political landscape is changing; I think it's more of a sign that people realize how much he fucked the state over as Gov.
Webb defeating Allen is a better indicator of an actual political shift in the state. Allen was a far more popular governor than Gilmore. Additionally, the Democrats winning control of the state Senate is definitely a good indication that there is a political shift occurring.
July 16, 2008 4:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
It gets more interesting than that, "Good times". Gilmore's only opponent in the repub race for the Senate seat was Bob Marshall. Marshall is a total whack job - and a close family friend, as it turns out - but he did more than "just about" beat Gilmore.
Apparently Marshall's people are actually holding the smoking gun that shows the Gilmore camp stole the nomination. They want to go public, but Marshall has flat-out refused. His reason? He openly fears that starting this fight at this time will guarantee the repubs lose the seat. They will, anyway, thank God, but the point is that some of their leaders actually understand they will.
July 16, 2008 4:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
Great news!! Big O's army of hundreds of excited volunteers will overwhelm the small group of mostly wheelchair bound McBush supporters there and elsewhere. His ground game will win it for him.
July 16, 2008 4:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
Here's an interesting thing about Harrisonburg-- it's smack in the middle of Virginia's strong Mennonite community. Mennonites are traditionally pacifist and dedicated to community service, two areas in which Obama is the clear choice. The Obama people are smart, smart, smart to establish an office in that city.
July 16, 2008 5:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
ALRIGHTY NOW!!
Obama is on the MOVE!!
He opens the MN State HQ here tomorrow and will be rolling out SEVEN offices in MN alone.
When folks think Obama is laying low, he is furiously in the background working hard and smart to come back with a force to be reckoned with.
The DNC does not even know what hit them. The word is that the folks use to working as part of the Clinton regime, don't know what HIT'em. Obama is tightfisted with the money AND efficient.
The DNC is turning into a real dynamo fueled by Obama supporters who work and don't play snot nose infightin and do it on a shoestring budget.
FIRED UP...READY to GO!!!
July 16, 2008 5:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
Remember, the goal is not necessarily for Obama to win (i.e., carry) the deep red areas of Southwest and Southside VA (although of course we'll take it if a landslide develops), but rather it's to avoid letting McCain run up huge margins there to offset his certain crushing defeat in NOVA, and significant losses to Obama in Richmond and Hampton Roads. If McCain is winning out west by single digits, he is toast if there is even remotely good turnout in NOVA. Both Warner and Kaine have explicitly voiced this as the strategy (which, if course, they both have used and which Warner is using again -- albeit with Gilmore as his opponent he's going to rack it up everywhere).
July 16, 2008 5:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
Tim Kaine will be the VP pick. He was one of the very first to support Obama.
Just watch. And then Obama will take Virginia.
July 16, 2008 5:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
Newbie here and I needed that laugh today...TY.
July 16, 2008 6:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
If there are any fifty state Obama staffers reading this - Texas is also be in play -But today in Austin - I went by the Obama hqts,the State Democratic office , and could not get four Obama yard signs -My neighbors out here in western Travis County would like some yard signs - even the red necked neighbor -- with the faded Bush Cheney 2004 bumper sticker on his parked SUV ( he now commutes to town on a used GoldWing -replete with a NRA sticker on the windsheild) ..
And there have been huge numbers of Democrats turnout here in Texas -new voters - if the Hispanic vote turns out in the Valley & the African American vote turns out in East Texas -and enough of my redneck neighbors actually do vote for Obama -watch out ya'll..
it seems to me that somebody good like James Carville should be hired to come down here and get this sea change in Texas organized ..
Ya'll need to send Noreiga some more money - he will beat Cornyn if we can get him properly resourced ...
July 16, 2008 6:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
Bristol shares a media market with Johnson City and Kingsport, TN, and a few smaller extreme Southwestern Virginia towns like Abingdon. And, of course, its twin city of Bristol, TN (divided straight down main street, called State Street). But not Blacksburg. I grew up in Bristol, and I'm thrilled about this! But I cannot quite get my head around an Obama campaign headquarters there. Very, very, very deep Appalachia. Tiny African American population. There's certainly a not-too-distant memory of a time when Democrats got elected there, but this is not what I'd call Obama-friendly demographics. But let's do it!
July 16, 2008 7:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
yea and yea and more yea
One is in my back yard!
July 17, 2008 12:30 AM | Reply | Permalink
yep! Plus watch Kaine's - Change video - him and Obama in the pics for 2008.....
July 17, 2008 12:31 AM | Reply | Permalink
This?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkQ04Tk7dTk
July 17, 2008 1:31 AM | Reply | Permalink
110 Bacon Ave. It is between Richmond Rd. and Lafayette St., across the way from the Williamsburg Shopping Center (Bloom, Ace Hardware, etc.). The campaign only had a place to make calls for the past week, but now will have a full-time office that will be open 12 hours a day. Canvassing and phone banking will go on regularly.
July 17, 2008 8:56 PM | Reply | Permalink