Culpeper hasn’t seen this in decades

By Catherine Amos

Published: August 13, 2008

Despite Culpeper’s strong Republican roots, the Obama presidential campaign’s decision to establish an office downtown indicates the hope of a possible swing come November.

Opening Saturday with a volunteer meet and greet from 1 to 3 p.m., the Culpeper office for Sen. Barack Obama’s campaign will be on the second floor at 102 N. Main St.

Following an appearance by congressional hopeful Anita Hartke, campaign volunteers will start calling area voters to gain local support for the Democratic presidential hopeful.

“I’ve been involved in politics in Culpeper since 1974, and this is the first time that we’ve had a coordinator in Culpeper for a national campaign,” said Hartke’s campaign manager, Harold Boyd.

Boyd, a member of the Culpeper Democratic Committee and a presidential elector for the Seventh Congressional District committee of the Virginia Democratic Party, said volunteers would also be promoting the campaigns of Hartke and U.S. Senate candidate Mark Warner.

Because of Culpeper County’s growth in recent years and large number of unregistered voters, Boyd said, the party designated it as an area with the potential to swing from Republican to Democrat. The campaign office will serve as a phone bank and a meeting place for supporters through Election Day in November.

“It’s going to be an interesting year,” Boyd said.

Hired by the Obama campaign and the Virginia Victory ’08 campaign, Nish Suvarnakar will manage the office, which will also be responsible for Orange, Madison and Rappahannock counties. Suvarnakar could not be reached for comment.

In addition, the Culpeper Democratic Committee will host 13 house parties across the county Aug. 28 — the day Sen. Obama accepts his nomination. Supporters can sign up for the party closest to them at Saturday’s event.

“Anybody who’s interested is welcome to come Saturday or anytime, really,” Boyd said.

Catherine Amos can be reached at 825-0771 ext. 138 or