Anchorage Daily News

The Barack Obama presidential campaign is pouring money into the Republican bastion of Alaska to beat John McCain and to help the Alaska Democrats running for Congress against Ted Stevens and Don Young.

"We've taken a look at the political dynamic of Alaska and, as a result, have made Alaska one of our 18 battleground states," said Obama deputy campaign manager Pete Rouse. "We believe we can win in Alaska and we're making it a priority."

Rouse, who was Obama's chief of staff in the U.S. Senate, has ties to Alaska. His mother grew up here, his aunt lives in Palmer, and Rouse was chief of staff for Alaska Lt. Gov. Terry Miller from 1979 to 1982. He's well aware Alaska voters haven't favored a Democrat for president since 1964.

But the most recent polling shows McCain with only a small lead over Obama in Alaska. Obama inspired a lot of excitement in the February Alaska Democratic caucuses, said Rouse, while McCain finished in last place among the state's Republican primary voters. Rouse also argues voters here are open to Obama's message of change.

Rouse said another factor in the Obama camp's decision to launch a major campaign effort in Alaska is a desire to help the Democrats who will be further down the ballot from Obama in November.

"If he has a close race here, I think that can substantially help Mark Begich and whoever the House nominee is in the fall," Rouse said in a Thursday conference call with Alaska reporters.

Anchorage mayor Begich is one of three Democrats running for Stevens' U.S. Senate seat.

Ethan Berkowitz and Diane Benson are competing for the Democratic nomination for Young's House seat.

"Obviously, if Senator Obama wins and he's president, we'd love to have a Democratic senator from Alaska and a Democratic House member from Alaska," Rouse said.

The McCain campaign has said it doesn't expect to open an office in Alaska and does not consider it among the "top tier" of target states to spend resources on. However, a McCain spokeswoman said she was confident he would do well here.

McHugh Pierre, spokesman for the Alaska Republican Party, said the Republicans aren't going to be able to match the number of campaign offices and "out of state" staff that the Obama campaign will have in Alaska. But, he said, the Alaska Republicans are going to put efforts as usual into getting out the vote, which has been successful for the party here in the past.

Pierre said McCain's positions, including his support for resource development, would resonate in Alaska. Both Obama and McCain are against oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, but McCain favors lifting the federal moratorium on offshore drilling and Obama doesn't.

Rouse said Obama wants to explore the potential of compressed natural gas as a motor fuel, which he said "also holds a lot of potential for building the Alaska gas line, which Obama has supported since he came to Congress in 2005."

Obama has opened campaign offices in Anchorage and Fairbanks and plans offices in Juneau and the Matanuska-Susitna valley area. He's also running television ads in the state. The possibility of Obama visiting Alaska during the campaign is being "actively discussed," Rouse said.

Find Sean Cockerham online at adn.com/contact/scockerham or call him at 257-4344.

ADVERTISEMENT