Obama: Going North to Alaska!

ANCHORAGE, ALASKA -- Last night, in a conference room in the public library here, Barack Obama State Director Kat Pustay told about 50 Alaskans that Obama would be coming to campaign in Alaska sometime before November, a move that would dramatically underscore his western-leaning red-state strategy for the general election and his commitment to Alaska as part of the plan. The last time a major party nominee campaigned in Alaska was 1960, when Richard Nixon adopted his own more rash version of the "50-state strategy."

So far, in addition to Pustay, Obama has only two other paid staff members here, Alaska Field Director Chris Farrell and General Election Director Patrick DeTemple. Pustay has lived in Alaska since 2004, and DeTemple just arrived from Obama's headquarters in Chicago. All of them addressed the chanting crowd.

Farrell told the group the well-known story of Edith Child, the elderly councilwoman from South Carolina who, in a small town there, banged her cane and chanted and became the inspiration for Obama's "fired up and ready to go" mantra.

In fact, Farrell told the same story in the same room shortly after he came to Alaska last winter, fresh from the Iowa caucuses, to organize for the Alaska caucus. Some were wary of him then, this guy from Rhode Island with a shock of red hair who wore retro-preppy clothes and clapped his hands and paced and who told us that he was here to help us bring out supporters in droves for the February caucus. In 2004, only about 700 Alaskans showed up for the Democratic caucus.

Yet a little more than a month after Farrell arrived, about 9,000 people stood up to caucus all across this red state, which is more than twice the size of Texas and larger than Peru. Roughly 75 percent of those caucusers were Obama supporters.

Farrell left in February and went to Ohio and Indiana and Wyoming. He's back and this time promises to bring a small army with him. He says that "dozens" of organizers are being hired from Alaska and around the country and that the first wave will arrive this weekend.

Recent polls confirm that an Obama visit and the grass-roots rallying of support might not be wasted effort. On June 16, Rasmussen Reports had John McCain with only a four percentage point lead over Obama in Alaska.

And today, a respected local pollster, David Dittman, who is working for U.S. Senator Ted Stevens, released a poll that was conducted among 507 Alaskans in 64 different communities between June 6 and 17. Dittman's poll has McCain at 42 percent and Obama at 37 percent, with 17 percent still undecided.

"I was very surprised by these results," Dittman said. "I would have thought John McCain would be up by double digits here." He attributes tepid support for McCain here to McCain's position on ANWR: most Alaskans support drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve; McCain doesn't.

Obama doesn't support drilling in ANWR either, but he and his team have faith that they'll win this state. Alaska, Pustay, said is "truly the poster child" for Obama's ability to change the electoral map.

"This is going to be a revolution," she told the crowd.

Comments

[Auspicious8]

Go Obama
Visit Alaska and let's win it

[mamacat]

Good.

Obama never was my first choice (or second, or third), but I believe he is head and shoulders above McCain or any of the other GOP frontrunners.

[theone718]

It's like music to my ears, let's turn Alaska blue and force McSame to shed some money up there. I CAN'T WAIT.

[CTmom13]

McSame will have to play in his own state - HILLARIOUS
A statewide Cronkite/Eight poll finds that only 38 percent of Arizona voters would vote for McCain. 28 percent said they would vote for Obama, and 34 percent were undecided. Choosing Hillary Clinton as his vice-presidential running mate could cost Barack Obama about 5 percentage points in the state, according to the poll.

A few weeks ago McCain acknowledged that he could lose Arizona, calling his home a "swing state" even though it voted Republican in every presidential election but one since 1952.

[edwarvir]

I am proud of Senator O he said he is not going to have a red state or
blue campaign, but he wants to be the President of the United States and
it looks like he is going for it. I am excited because this is the way it should
be..


OBAMA/WEXLER 08

[karela]

I love that about Obama too. Even if he loses a state, at least he's been there and introduced himself. When it's over, people will feel more a part of his presidency.

[BlackDemfromNH]

I hope people can understand the significance of this. That Obama is within striking distance of McCain in Alaska this early in the game is astounding! It shows just how different and transformational this campaign is. This truly is a movement. If Barack visits Alaska before the election I believe he could possibly sway this one into his column in November. Wow!

[LawSource]

IF OBAMA VISIT ALASKA John McBush is Finish In THAT STATE!!

[jetgirl]

That's great news. Alaska would be very much able to go to Obama if he visits there. I was really hoping he would go and honor a true 50 state campaign.

[Amanda Coyne - Huffpost Blogger]

Thanks Plantgod72. It'll be an interesting race up here, and I'll make sure to keep you abreast of all the haps.

Amanda

[PlantGod72]

Thanks for the update, Amanda. Glad to read the tide is turning up yonder! As a child of the Pacific Northwest, I'm looking forward to more of your reports.

[foolchild0]

As someone born and raised in Alaska, who left in utter disgust at the people and their ignorance, the possibility of Alaska going blue is heartening- from what I hear both Don Young and Ted Stevens are unlikely to get re-elected as well. I guess anything can change with time!