Although the presidential primary election is still more than two months away, some local Democrats met this weekend to organize in support of U.S. Senator Barack Obama.
About ten met Saturday afternoon at Rocco's Pizza in the Northgate Shopping Center. Christian Adair helped organize the meeting and said he's pleased with the turnout even though the meeting conflicted with the University of Kentucky basketball game with Georgia in Atlanta, which had been re-scheduled from Friday night.
According to the Associated Press, Obama leads U.S. Senator Hilary Clinton among pledged delegates, 1,385-1,237 while the former first lady has an advantage among superdelegates, 247-211. The Democratic National Convention is in August in Denver.
Upcoming primaries in addition to Kentucky include Pennsylvania, Indiana, North Carolina, West Virginia, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Montana and South Dakota.
Adair told The State Journal that the Obama campaign emphasizes grass-roots development.
"That's why it's grown for him and so many new people are coming out for him," Adair said. "We might get people from Anderson or Shelby county and they could go back and start own group."
Adair coaches track and football at Western Hills High School and said the initial supporters locally was very diverse, including an almost equal number of men and women, whites and blacks, young and old supporters. He went to an Obama campaign event in Cincinnati and said he saw the same diversity there.
"Not at church, athletics, or concerts have I ever seen such a diverse crowd," Adair said. "Today was a true reflection of what the campaign is."
Notable local backers include attorney Bryan Hix and Magistrate Jill Robinson.
Hix said he's excited about the Obama campaign and hopes that Obama will come to Frankfort because of a strong local Democratic history and high voter turnout.
"It's his back yard," Hix said.
Robinson said she had not expected to get involved in either campaign because she didn't think the race would last until the Kentucky primary on May 20.
"Since we are going to be in play, I thought about it long and hard," she said. "I thought a lot about people's perspective of us around the world, I think that helped me decide go ahead and go with Barack. It sends strong message we're moving on."
The race between Obama and Clinton has been spirited, but Robinson said it will only get worse in the fall, when one candidate will face the Republican nominee, U.S. Senator John McCain.
Adair, Hix and Robinson all pledged to reach out and talk to friends and family about Obama and his message.
"Word of mouth is the most powerful tool out there," Adair said.
He said he hopes each volunteer will talk to 10 people and bring at least five friends to the next meeting on April 8 at Rocco's.
The group hopes to reach out to students and faculty at Kentucky State University and help start a grass roots group there as well. Other projects include a voter registration drive on April 15 and a party on May 20 to watch the election results.
They will also raise money by selling Obama wristbands and using the money to buy a campaign package with yard signs and other materials. Adair said everything is on back order because everyone is excited about the candidate.
Liz McGrapth said she really wants an Obama yard sign because he is the first candidate she has ever been excited about.
Adair, who lives in Versailles, said he's afraid someone might take his yard sign because they're so rare. Parents and neighbors have also offered to buy it from him.
Robinson said she has not heard of any local activity in support of Clinton, and supporters said they had not been contacted yet.
The Clinton website does not list any offices or events in Kentucky. A campaign spokesperson referred all questions to an e-mail address but did not reply to a request for information this weekend.
Get information and news about Obama campaign events in Frankfort at: http://my.barackobam...bama