The campaign to reelect President Barack Obama is officially opening its first office for the 2012 election season in Fort Collins today at 401 S. Mason St. The move signifies the importance of Northern Colorado to Obama’s reelection bid.
The Fourth Congressional District covers Fort Collins, Longmont and Loveland—in addition to the state’s eastern plains. The area swung Democratic in 2008 due to concerns about the economy. But those same issues in 2010 created a different sentiment, ultimately replacing Democratic Representative Betsy Markey with Republican Cory Gardner.
“We’re an interesting mix of things that could make us more liberal or could make us more conservative,” said Suzanne Trask, a neighborhood team leader for the campaign.
Trask said the Fort Collins effort right now is focusing on reconnecting and recruiting volunteers who were active in 2008. Meantime, Colorado State University Freshman Terran Hause with Students for Obama is focusing on recruiting CSU students.
“It’s really about getting the word out on a college campus when there’s 25,000 kids and they’re all promoting their own interests, it’s hard to stand out,” he said. “But I think we’re doing a good job.”
Hause said right now the focus is voter registration on campus. Back in 2008, the youth vote was a key demographic in Obama’s election success. Support will be just as important in 2012. But a recent report by the Pew Research Center says this group is paying less attention to politics today than it did during the 2008 election cycle.
The Colorado Obama campaign also plans to open up offices in other key locations in Colorado Springs, Pueblo and along the western slope in the coming months.