Obama campaign in gear in Greensboro
Sen. Barack Obama's campaign has a new home in downtown Greensboro.
The staff has decamped from Elm Street's Cheesecakes by Alex, where they worked during the search for a new building. Obama's campaign met in a building on W. Friendly Avenue during the primary.
The new location opened for business Sunday across the street at 318 S. Elm St. A small staff is conducting voter registration and signing up campaign volunteers.
Setting up a Greensboro headquarters follows Obama's much-touted emphasis on winning over previously Republican states across the South. North Carolina is one of the states Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean will visit in a southern bus tour this month. Dean is set to visit Greensboro, Raleigh and Charlotte July 25.
The time and location of Dean's visit is not yet set, but we'll keep updates coming as information is made available.
Update: The NC Republican Party has issued a press release denouncing Dean's Southern tour and claiming that the DNC chairman is out of touch with Southern voters.
"It doesn't surprise me that Barack Obama would send Howard Dean to the South to do his bidding," said state party chairwoman Linda Daves, according to the e-mail release. "Dean might want to be careful though. There is a distinct possibility that in rural North Carolina, he may run into those 'bitter' voters who cling to their guns and religion, the ones Barack Obama has talked about in the past."
We would like to point out that Dean doesn't actually plan to stop in rural North Carolina, limiting his visit to three of the state's largest cities.
Update 2: The DNC has confirmed times and locations for Dean's three North Carolina stops. He'll be at the state Democratic Party headquarters in Raleigh at 9 a.m., Greensboro's Governmental Plaza on Greene Street at noon, and in Charlotte at 3:30 p.m. at the Margery Thompson Professional Development Center.
Update 3: Not to be outdone, Republican National Committee Chairman Mike Duncan today announced a three-week "Victory 2008 Tour." The trip includes North Carolina alongside swing states Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida and others.
Duncan will use the opportunity to discuss voter registration and Republican fundraising efforts. No word yet on his mode of transportation.