Obama To Expand Campaign In Colorado

Despite a surprising primary loss in New Hampshire on Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama will significantly expand his campaign operations in Colorado this week in advance of the Democratic presidential caucus on Feb. 5.

On Thursday, Obama’s campaign will open six new field offices in Denver, South Denver, Pueblo, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins, and Boulder, said Suzanne Gelderman, Obama’s Colorado political director. The campaign currently has one field office in Denver.

Obama's campaign will also bring in 19 staff members this week fresh from working in the Iowa Democratic caucus, increasing his Colorado campaign staff to 30, said Obama spokesperson Christina Mulka.

U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, who lost to Obama in the Iowa caucus on Jan. 3 but rebounded to beat him in New Hampshire, currently has one field office in Colorado, located in Denver.

Gelderman said the Obama campaign is putting resources into Colorado as part of its plan to focus particularly on states that hold caucuses instead of primaries.  

Since caucus voters tend to be a relatively small group of party activists, Obama’s campaign reasons, it will be easier for grassroots groups of Obama supporters to swing caucus states such as Colorado his way than states that hold a public statewide primary election, Gelderman said.

Colorado will send 70 delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Denver in August. 

As for that grassroots effort, Gelderman said 3,300 college students in Colorado have pledged to vote for Obama in the state’s Democratic presidential caucus on Feb. 5 – a number that, if proven true, would be significant considering how few young people traditionally participate in presidential caucuses.

 Obama also already has 1,000 precinct captains in the state, Gelderman said, including 100 in each of the state’s six Congressional districts.

Obama is also paying close attention to Colorado because of the state’s unusually large number of independent voters – a voting group that played a large role in giving Obama an upset victory in the Iowa caucus.

And if Obama wins the Democratic nomination, those independent voters would be vital for him in the general election to win in Colorado, a swing state that has narrowly voted Republican in the last three presidential elections.

Also, on Tuesday former U.S. Sen. Gary Hart and U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter endorsed Obama -- the first major Colorado politicians to do so. Clinton has won endorsements from U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, State Senate Majority Leader Ken Gordon, and State House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, among others.

“We really feel the momentum,” Gelderman said. “We’re ready for February 5.”

But despite the attention the Obama campaign is paying to Colorado, Gelderman said Obama has no plans to visit Colorado in the near future.