Tomorrow, we celebrate the grand opening of our Idaho headquarters in Boise. In so many of the critical February 5th states like Idaho, there is tremendous grassroots energy on the ground, and we're harnessing it with campaign infrastructure and organization.
I just spoke with TJ, an Air Force veteran and community leader in Boise -- and one of our strongest grassroots organizers in Idaho -- who's helping with the big launch tomorrow.
"He has such a strong presence here compared to the other candidates," says TJ. "We’ve had three official mock caucuses in different parts of the state and he’s won all three of those. Several state repreprentatives have come out publicly for Obama. And the grassroots presence is huge. We started organizing back in March as an group of volunteers who met on My.BarackObama.com, and since that time, we've indepedently collected over 500 people on our list."
"It’s developed into something amazing here," says TJ.
Here's TJ with Tim, Joey, and Kassie (from left to right) at Idaho HQ.
During the recent Canvass for Change, TJ and other canvassers distributed 2000 Obama brouchures which unfold into signs. "When we made our way back home," TJ recounts, "we saw so many of the houses that we had visited with the Obama signs in their windows."
TJ says Obama is generating so much enthusiasm because people in Idaho genuinely connect with his message of hope. "Obama represents hope. Public officials use that word loosely and so few actually represent it. But with Obama, hope actually means something to people. People here respect him for standing up to an unncessary war."
He also says Obama appeals to folks in this traditionally Republican state because they believes his election will help local candidates.
"Individuals here have been disappointed with our national representatives, who are all Republicans. It's brought a lot of Independents and moderate Republicans to the Democratic Party," says TJ. "And people in Idaho realize that having Obama on the ticket is really going to help our local campaigns. He’s not divisive and he attracts Independents and Republicans, unlike some of the other candidates. I went to Idaho Falls recently -- it’s one of the reddest cities in all of Idaho -- and there alone we were able to get 30-35 people to attend an organizational meeting for Obama."
TJ believes that ordinary Idahoans can make a big impact in the election, especially since Idaho is a caucus state. "Once people understand what the caucus entails they’ll realize their vote counts a lot more. Also in Idaho all Independents, Republicans and Democrats can vote in the caucus. So people shouldn’t feel like they cant play a role just because they’re not Democrats. If you indentify with politics of hope, you can be a major stakeholder in the nomination process. This could be the state that puts him over the edge and sends the message that we’re not just a red state and that he crosses party lines."
For folks in the Boise area, head down to the office tomorrow
4346 W. Rose HillBoise, ID 83705208-345-6210
And make sure to check out Idaho.BarackObama.com for events, news and to learn how you can make an impact in Idaho.
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