Optimism For Obama in California From the Grassroots

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Mitchell Schwartz
California State Director
Obama for President Campaign

Since Barack Obama began his campaign for the presidency in February, our campaign has attracted the support of over 100,000 Californians. Over 700 volunteer groups were formed and over 15,000 individuals have taken action to help our campaign in the state. Californians have contributed more to Barack Obama than residents of any other state, including donations from thousands of small dollar contributors who can give again.

Most importantly, the more Californians are getting to know Barack Obama, the more they are convinced that he is the candidate who will deliver change we can believe in. Californians appreciate that Barack Obama had the judgment to oppose the war from the start and has announced a plan to end it as quickly and responsibly as we can. They know that he will challenge the conventional thinking in Washington, and he will oppose efforts to give President Bush a blank check to extend the war in Iraq to Iran. And they’re discovering he is a principled leader who will tell us not what we want to hear, but what we need to hear, about the challenges America faces, with the ability to unite Democrats and Republicans and get things done.

Our campaign in California has leveraged the enthusiastic grassroots support we have found across the state into an organized effort to educate voters about Barack Obama and to turn out the vote on February 5th. We have opened offices in Oakland and Los Angeles, established volunteer-driven organizing teams in all 53 Congressional Districts, and hired an experienced campaign staff that is reaching constituencies, communities, and elected officials and leaders throughout the state.

LAYING THE GROUDWORK

Senator Obama and Michelle Obama have visited the Golden State numerous times in the past year. Senator Obama has drawn huge crowds, never seen this early in a campaign: Over 8,000 people in the middle of a workday in Los Angeles, 12,000 in Oakland, and 6,000 in Santa Barbara.

Senator Obama is reaching out across the divides of the diverse populations of California, meeting with Ministers and Church leaders, answering questions from a Latino crowd at a town hall meeting at Garfield High School in East Los Angeles, kicking off our California Women for Obama program in San Francisco, and detailing his energy policies at a new biofuels business.