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Mary Richards and AP reportingIt's a sign of the changing political times: A Democrat wanting to make a fight in Utah. Barack Obama seems to think he can make an impact here.
Obama's campaign is bringing several full-time, paid staffers to Utah this month.
His people say he won't ignore Utah, even though it's a strongly red state. They hope this push makes John McCain spend more resources here as well.
Obama volunteer efforts are already going strong, with a planning meeting last night in St. George and one tonight at the Utah Democratic Party headquarters in Salt Lake City.
Utah hasn't voted for a Democrat in a presidential election since 1964, when Lyndon Johnson was on the ballot. In 2004, President Bush won with 72 percent of the vote.
Obama won Utah's February primary.
E-mail: mrichards@ksl.com
(The Associated Press contributed to this report. Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
