As Georgia race tightens, Obama sends in volunteers

Barack Obama’s campaign, sensing a tightening race, is sending 100 volunteers from other states to rally Georgians to the polls in the final 10 days.

Caroline Adelman, a spokeswoman for the Democratic presidential nominee’s Georgia campaign, said the campaign sees an opening in Georgia.

“Volunteers from all over the country are being organized and sent our way,” she said. “Obviously, other people are watching Georgia and are pleased with what’s happening here and are sending in support.”

The three most recent polls have shown Obama closing the gap with Republican John McCain. One shows Obama with a razor-thin lead.

But a spokesman for Republican nominee John McCain said the campaign remains confident that Georgia will stay in the Republican column, as it has every presidential election since 1992.

“We have a grass roots army in the tens of thousands who are committed to John McCain’s message of keeping taxes low, and allowing small business owners to keep their wealth,” said McCain spokesman Mario Diaz. “Ultimately, the only number that matters are those indicating a victory for John McCain on the night of November 4.”

Atlanta-based InsiderAdvantage released a poll Friday morning showing Obama leading McCain 48 percent to 47 percent, with 2 percent voting for another candidate and 3 percent undecided. Given the 3.8 percentage point margin of error, Obama could also be trailing. Still, it is the first poll of the campaign to show McCain behind in a state that George W. Bush won in 2004 with 58 percent of the vote.

Two other polls show McCain still ahead, although both also show his lead shrinking.

Rasmussen Reports’ shows McCain ahead 51 percent to 46 percent with a margin of error of 4.5 percentage points. Atlanta-based Strategic Vision found McCain ahead 51 percent to 45 percent, with a margin of error of 3 percentage points.

All three polls reflect a tightening of the race. On Oct. 7, Rasmussen had McCain up 9 points and Strategic Visions had McCain up 7 points. InsiderAdvantage’s last poll, from Oct. 9, had McCain up 3 points.

Emory University political scientist Alan Abramowitz, a national expert on polling and campaigns, finds a consistent message in the polls.

“The only conclusion you can draw from those polls is that the race here has gotten much closer than it was a few weeks ago and that right now it looks like it’s very competitive,” Abramowitz said.

The 100 new Obama volunteers coming here will supplement an existing cadre of nearly 5,000 volunteers already trained and working here, Adelman said. They will have a singular mission: getting voters to the polls, which, in campaign parlance, is known as GOTV, for “get out the vote.”

“That’s all we do, baby, is GOTV,” Adelman said.

Since early voting began in September, nearly 1 million Georgia voters have cast ballots. Beginning Monday, additional polling places will open in most counties giving voters more opportunities to cast ballots before election day Nov. 4.

The turnout thus far appears to favor Democrats, as African-Americans have cast about 35 percent of all ballots, although they only represent about 29 percent of the total registered voters.

Some Republicans believe GOP voters will begin to turn out in greater numbers beginning next week when more polling stations are open. DeKalb County Republican Party chairman Jamie Sibold expects large turnout Monday in the northern suburbs of his county, where the party is stronger.

The volunteer move represents a more modest investment than the campaign is making in other battleground states. The Obama campaign is not yet sending the candidate or major surrogates to the state. Former President Bill Clinton will be in Atlanta tonight, but he is attending a fund raiser for U.S. Senate candidate Jim Martin and is not scheduled to make a public appearance for Obama.

Sending more volunteers allows the campaign to add Georgia to its list of competitive states while not investing campaign cash.

If McCain can’t hold Georgia it doesn’t much matter, Abramowitz said.

“If Obama takes Georgia, it also means he’s taking North Carolina, Virginia and Florida,” he said.

For more on Georgia polls and pollsters, go to ajc.com