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Obama campaign highlights rural outreach and small-town offices

by: desmoinesdem

Tue Aug 12, 2008 at 09:16:00 AM CDT

The Obama campaign is officially launching field offices in six small towns today, and Senator Tom Harkin is speaking with reporters by conference call about the Obama campaign's rural outreach. In addition,

the Obama Iowa Campaign for Change is kicking off its series of Rural Roundtable Discussions in Washington and Algona [on August 12]. To find out more, please visit: http://ia.barackobama.com/IAru... To read Senator Obama's comprehensive plan to strengthen rural America, please visit: http://www.barackobama.com/iss...

The new offices are located in Carroll, Grinnell, Indianola, Iowa Falls, Muscatine and Spencer. They bring the number of Obama field offices in Iowa to 26 (including two in Des Moines).

Since the first wave of office launches last month, field offices have been opened in West Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Creston and Tipton, as well as in the small towns being highlighted in today's conference call. A press release from the campaign states that four more field offices will open next week but does not say where.

Note that many of Obama's offices are located in battleground House and Senate districts. For instance, the Grinnell office is in House district 75 and Senate district 38. Iowa Falls is in House district 44 and Senate district 22. The West Des Moines office could help in House district 59.

I am still unclear on what, if anything, staffers in Obama field offices will be doing for the down-ticket candidates. For instance, I don't know whether voter IDs on candidates other than Obama are being collected, and I don't know whether there are plans for phone bankers and canvassers to mention the statehouse and Congressional races in their voter contacts. There is a danger that Obama's GOTV will mobilize supporters who either leave the down-ticket ballot lines blank or (even worse) vote Republican down-ticket.

If you are volunteering in one of Obama's field offices, I'd love to hear from you about any efforts related to the Congressional or statehouse races. You can either post a diary or a comment on this blog, or send me a confidential e-mail (desmoinesdem AT yahoo.com).

After the jump, I put a press release announcing today's office openings as well as a full list of Obama's Iowa field offices, along with their addresses and phone numbers (if available). I added the name of the county and the Congressional district where each office is located.

By the way, the Iowa page of John McCain's official campaign website now lists six offices: a state headquarters in Urbandale (which is also a field office covering southeast Iowa), Council Bluffs, Ames, Davenport, Dubuque, and Marion (suburb of Cedar Rapids). I don't know how many more McCain field offices are planned, if any.

desmoinesdem :: Obama campaign highlights rural outreach and small-town offices

TUESDAY: Senator Harkin to Hold Conference Call to Discuss Obama Iowa Campaign for Change Rural Office Openings
The Obama Iowa Campaign for Change Will Open Additional Offices Across Rural Iowa to Engage Iowans in Every Part of the State
Des Moines, Iowa - Tomorrow, at 9:30 AM CDT Senator Tom Harkin will hold a conference call with reporters to discuss Senator Obama's commitment to reaching out to Iowans in rural communities. Tomorrow, the Obama Iowa Campaign for Change will open six additional offices in rural Iowa. In addition to its previously announced offices, the Campaign for Change recently opened offices in Tipton and Creston, will be opening six offices in rural Iowa tomorrow, and will open four more offices in rural Iowa next week.
"We are excited to be opening even more offices across rural Iowa, so more Iowans have the opportunity to get involved in our campaign to fix Washington and bring real change to America," said Obama Iowa State Director Jackie Norris. "Senator Obama has traveled across Iowa and understands the challenges facing rural communities. As President, he will fight to revitalize rural economies, bring good jobs to rural communities and make sure every American has access to quality, affordable health care."
Today, the Obama Iowa Campaign for Change is kicking off its series of Rural Roundtable Discussions in Washington and Algona. To find out more, please visit: http://ia.barackobama.com/IAru... To read Senator Obama's comprehensive plan to strengthen rural America, please visit: http://www.barackobama.com/iss...
The details of tomorrow's conference call and office openings are below. Details of additional office openings will be released when available.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 8TH, 2008
Conference Call with Senator Tom Harkin
9:30 AM CDT
For call-in information, please email Jenni Lee at Jennifer.Lee@barackobama.com
Carroll Office Opening
7:30 PM CDT
225 W 4th St.
Carroll, Iowa 51401
Grinnell Office Opening
7:00 PM CDT
829 Commercial St.
Grinnell, Iowa 50112
Indianola Office Opening
5:30 PM CDT
605 N. Jefferson Way
Indianola, Iowa 50125
Iowa Falls Office Opening
7:30 PM CDT
210 Main St.
Iowa Falls, Iowa 50126
Muscatine Office Opening
6:00 PM CDT
106 E 2nd Street
Muscatine, Iowa 52761
Spencer Office Opening
6:00 PM CDT
301 Grand Ave
Spencer, Iowa 51301
###
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 11, 2008
CONTACT: Jenni Lee, (515) 447-4611

Contact information for the 26 Obama field offices in Iowa:

http://my.barackobama.com/page...
Ames Office (Story County, 4th Congressional district)
303 Welch Ave Suite 103 and 108
Ames, IA
515-268-0313
Burlington Office (Des Moines County, 2nd district)
414 N. 3rd Street
Burlington, IA
319-758-6508
Carroll Office (Carroll County, 5th district)
7:30 PM CDT
225 W 4th St.
Carroll, Iowa 51401
Cedar Rapids Office (Linn County, 2nd district)
1229 1st Ave SE
Cedar Rapids, IA
319-362-1155
Council Bluffs Office (Pottawattamie County, 5th district)
117 N 16th St.
Council Bluffs, IA
712-352-1537
Creston Office (Union County, 5th district)
209 N. Maple Street
Creston, IA
712-204-1851
Davenport Office (Scott County, 1st district)
901 E. Kimberly Rd. Unit 22
Davenport, IA
Des Moines Headquarters (Polk County, 3rd district)
420 Watson Powell Jr Way
Des Moines, IA
888-492-2008
Des Moines Volunteer Field Office (Polk County, 3rd district)
1408 Locust St.
Des Moines, IA
515-244-4798
Dubuque Office (Dubuque County, 1st district)
2600 Dodge St. Ste B4
Dubuque, IA
563-583-4369
Fort Dodge Office (Webster County, 4th district)
33 N 12th St.
Fort Dodge, IA
515-576-6731
Grinnell Office (Poweshiek County, 3rd district)
7:00 PM CDT
829 Commercial St.
Grinnell, Iowa 50112
Independence Office (Buchanan County, 1st district)
204 1st Street East
Independence, IA
319-334-3049
Indianola Office (Warren County, 4th district)
605 N Jefferson Way
Indianola, IA
515-447-5594
Iowa City Office (Johnson County, 2nd district)
625 S. Dubuque St.
Iowa City, IA
319-338-5790
Iowa Falls Office (Hardin County, 4th district)
210 Main Street
Iowa Falls, IA
641-648-2352
Mason City Office (Cerro Gordo County, 4th district)
517 1st NW
Mason City, IA
641-423-0488
Marshalltown Office (Marshall County, 4th district)
12 West Main St.
Marshalltown, IA
641-752-4273
Muscatine Office (Muscatine County, 2nd district)
106 E 2nd Street
Muscatine, IA
563-263-5122
Oskaloosa Office (Mahaska County, 3rd district)
206 N Market St
Oskaloosa, IA
641-673-3971
Ottumwa Office (Wapello County, 2nd district)
226 W Main Suite 203
Ottumwa, IA
641-684-5429
Sioux City Office (Woodbury County, 3rd district)
506 Nebraska St.
Sioux City, IA
712-277-0167
Spencer Office (Clay County, 5th district)
301 Grand Ave
Spencer, IA
Tipton Office (Cedar County, 2nd district)
505 Cedar Street
Tipton, IA
Waterloo Office (Black Hawk County, 1st district)
500 Jefferson Street, Suite A
Waterloo, IA
319-236-2992
West Des Moines Office (Polk County, 3rd district)
1309 50th St
West Des Moines, IA
515-226-3102

Tags: barack obama, 2008 Elections, state legislature, Tim Hoy, Tom Rielly, Eric Palmer, (All Tags)

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Obama campaign highlights rural outreach and small-town offices | 4 comments

Speaking from experience on this... (4.00 / 1)

...I can tell you that at least in Virginia, where I (a transplanted Iowan) now live, we've been canvassing for all three federal candidates in my locale. I live in VA-10 for Congress, and our canvassing under the Obama campaign has been for Obama, Mark Warner, and Judy Feder who is the Democrat challenging 28-year incumbent Rethug Frank Wolf. And the canvassing includes marking down who people are supporting for Senate and House, assuming they're willing to talk to us at all and then willing to reveal their preferences.

So I suspect the Obama canvassing in Iowa will be similar, with Obama headlining but sharing the "canvassing stage" with down-ballot Democrats.

Of course it's easier in Virginia where state and local elections are in odd years, and we have only federal races (except for the odd special election) in even years. In Iowa it's a bit more complicated with the state legislative and local races crammed into the mix. But I'd be surprised if at least state legislative races weren't tested in the canvassing. It really doesn't take long to go through the questions.

by: DCCyclone @ Tue Aug 12, 2008 at 18:31:53 PM UTC

by: you @ soon

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thanks and good luck (0.00 / 0)

with your volunteer work. I was just reading that Obama has something like 29 field offices in Virginia. Any idea what kind of ground game McCain is putting together?

Also, can you tell how much effort is being put into new voter registration in Virginia?

An Obama win in your state would make it very hard for McCain to get to 270 electoral votes.

Invite other Iowa political junkies to join us at Bleeding Heartland.

by: desmoinesdem @ Tue Aug 12, 2008 at 20:37:29 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

canvassing for Obama (4.00 / 1)

I've been canvassing for Obama exactly once, so my experience might not typical. According to the brief training I received, Saturdays are "Barak and Becky Day," meaning as far as I can tell on Saturdays they ask for both Obama and Greenwald, the rest of the days they just ask about Obama. The form we were using on Thursday just had Obama on it.

The state legislators weren't on it at all. But both of my state legislators are democrats and are probably fairly safe. I don't think that Jack Kibbie even has an opponent this time around.

by: lorih @ Tue Aug 12, 2008 at 21:32:10 PM UTC

by: you @ soon

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now I'm more confused (0.00 / 0)

Someone with more experience running campaigns will have to explain to me the logic of asking only about Obama six days of the week but asking about Greenwald too on Saturdays.

Invite other Iowa political junkies to join us at Bleeding Heartland.

by: desmoinesdem @ Wed Aug 13, 2008 at 13:29:40 PM UTC

[ Parent ]