Obama in Asheville: Let’s turn N.C. blue

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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ABC News has the story:

ABC News’ Sunlen Miller reports: Sen. Barack Obama –- settling in for an anticipated two days of debate prep in North Carolina — told the N.C. Democratic State Party dinner that he has high hopes for flipping the state blue.

“Despite the pundits, despite the prognosticators, despite the cynicism, turns out 30 days left we are right here in the hunt in North Carolina,” Obama said to a crowd of more than 700 who came out for the annual Vance-Aycock Dinner and were surprised by Obama’s last minute appearance.

Polls indicate the race is neck-and-neck between Obama and Sen. John McCain in North Carolina. President Bush won in the state in 2004 by 13 percent, yet the Obama campaign believes it is one of the key states that they can compete in and turn blue this election.

“When we started this campaign we said that we were going to change the political map,” Obama told the audience and then referenced his large primary victory over Sen. Hillary Clinton in the state as an indicator of his support. “We had a few bumps in the road during the primary season — turns out that people in North Carolina decided they were going to lift up the Obama campaign. So I said to myself, maybe we should just keep on coming to North Carolina and see what happens.”

With 15 electoral votes, North Carolina has become an important goal for Obama. The Illinois senator has spent seven days in the state since the start of the general election.