Dems set up offices, prepare for battle
By:
Lauren Mylo
Issue date: 3/21/08 Section: News
With one candidate's Pittsburgh office up and running and another's on the verge of opening, the Democratic presidential campaigns are out of the gates in Pittsburgh.
Though both Democratic candidates' state headquarters are located in Philadelphia, both Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have campaign offices in Pittsburgh.
Obama's office opened March 11 and is located at 208 N. Highland Ave. in East Liberty, while Clinton's campaign will launch its official opening as early as next week and is already operating phone banks out of its headquarters at 213 Smithfield St.
Both offices will depend heavily on volunteers, and Pitt students have already been actively working with the candidates' Pittsburgh offices.
Pitt student Lissa Geiger, who began Students for Hillary Clinton and is president of the College Democrats, started working with other Pitt students Downtown before the Ohio and Texas primaries two weeks ago and has gotten buttons and stickers and other campaign materials from there.
"We're definitely planning on doing more phone banking there," Geiger said.
But for now, all of the Clinton campaign efforts, as well as the efforts of the Pittsburgh Obama campaign, are focused on getting voters registered before the deadline on Monday.
"We're putting a lot of focus out on voter registration," Kristen Lee, spokesperson for Clinton's Pittsburgh campaign, said.
"We're encouraging independents and Republicans who support Hillary to re-register in this historic campaign."
Lee also said the campaign has seen a lot of momentum in Pittsburgh so far through grassroots campaigns and that students have been a big part of that here as well as in other states.
"I think that college students recognize that Hillary has the experience to bring about the change students want to see, making college affordable, improving student loans, curbing global warming or improving the economy," she said.
She added the most important way students can get involved is by going door to door, by telling people they know why they support Clinton and by making phone calls.
Though both Democratic candidates' state headquarters are located in Philadelphia, both Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have campaign offices in Pittsburgh.
Obama's office opened March 11 and is located at 208 N. Highland Ave. in East Liberty, while Clinton's campaign will launch its official opening as early as next week and is already operating phone banks out of its headquarters at 213 Smithfield St.
Both offices will depend heavily on volunteers, and Pitt students have already been actively working with the candidates' Pittsburgh offices.
Pitt student Lissa Geiger, who began Students for Hillary Clinton and is president of the College Democrats, started working with other Pitt students Downtown before the Ohio and Texas primaries two weeks ago and has gotten buttons and stickers and other campaign materials from there.
"We're definitely planning on doing more phone banking there," Geiger said.
But for now, all of the Clinton campaign efforts, as well as the efforts of the Pittsburgh Obama campaign, are focused on getting voters registered before the deadline on Monday.
"We're putting a lot of focus out on voter registration," Kristen Lee, spokesperson for Clinton's Pittsburgh campaign, said.
"We're encouraging independents and Republicans who support Hillary to re-register in this historic campaign."
Lee also said the campaign has seen a lot of momentum in Pittsburgh so far through grassroots campaigns and that students have been a big part of that here as well as in other states.
"I think that college students recognize that Hillary has the experience to bring about the change students want to see, making college affordable, improving student loans, curbing global warming or improving the economy," she said.
She added the most important way students can get involved is by going door to door, by telling people they know why they support Clinton and by making phone calls.
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