The campaign of Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama said Wednesday it was making a major effort in North Carolina because of the alignment of the issues and because of an unprecedented get-out the vote effort.
"The people want out of this war and they want some changes in the econony," Democratic Gov. Mike Easley said during an Obama campaign teleconference. "It's going to be very difficult for the people of North Carolina to vote for the status quo rather than change, which is where we are right now."
The Obama campaign said they have so far opened 16 offices across the state, spent more than $2 million in TV ads, and registered thousands of new voters, Rob Christensen reports.
"We are in striking distance," said Patrick Gaspard, the Obama national political director said of North Carolina.
The Obama campaign seemed to be reaching out to blue collar workers, who tended to vote for Hillary Clinton in the May primary.
The Obama campaign said it would emphasize rising gas prices, manufacuring jobs lost through unfavorable trade deals and John McCain's opposition to the Farm Bill.
The Obama campaign said it planned to organize every precinct in the state. The campaign said it would focus on voter registration between now and the Oct. 10 deadline.
They noted that since January, Democrats had picked up 169,635 new voters, while Republicans had gained over 51,542.
