Md., Va., D.C. Seek Strength in Numbers After Super Tuesday

Working from scripts supplied by the campaign, they contacted Northern Virginians who have expressed support for Obama in the past in an effort to expand the organization for the six-day campaign next month.

"What about working at the polls on primary day?" one volunteer asked. "What about door-to-door canvassing?"

Christine West, 28, an ebullient Obama volunteer whose day job is running a Web site for a nonprofit group, has convened the group every week for the past couple of months. She doesn't question Virginia's significance.

"We are going to be huge!" she said. "We're just getting started."

Because time will be short after Super Tuesday, each campaign will hitch at least some of its fortune to local officials who have pledged support. District Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, who endorsed Obama over the summer, brings a formidable canvassing and fundraising operation. In Maryland, Clinton has drawn the backing of Gov. Martin O'Malley and Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown. Obama has the support of Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler, Prince George's County State's Attorney Glenn F. Ivey and state Sen. Ulysses Currie (Prince George's). Former senator John Edwards of North Carolina has had a smaller presence. On the Republican side, Ehrlich's old organization is expected to help Giuliani with phone banks.

In the Virginia Democratic race, Clinton and Obama are staking claim to Gov. Timothy M. Kaine's organization, which won the state in 2005 and helped the party take the state Senate last year. Kaine has endorsed Obama and campaigned for him in several primary states. But Kaine's 2005 campaign manager, Mike Henry, is working as Clinton's deputy campaign manager. Clinton's regional finance director is Matthew Felan, who directed Kaine's fundraising.

"We will not be turning our attention to Virginia for the first time on February 6th," said Clinton spokesman Mo Elleithee, Kaine's 2005 communications director. Edwards has the support of state Democratic Party Chairman Richard Cranwell of Vinton and several state senators from western Virginia, including R. Edward Houck (Spotsylvania).

On the Republican side in Virginia, U.S. Sen. John W. Warner and Rep. Thomas M. Davis III have endorsed McCain. Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling is co-chairman of former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney's campaign in the state.

The polls are not going to mean much until closer to primary day. And even then, as history suggests, they might not mean a whole lot. In a poll early this month by Gonzales Research and Marketing Strategies, Obama led Clinton in Maryland, 36 percent to 33 percent, with Edwards garnering 17 percent. McCain, with 23 percent, led former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee and Giuliani, both with 15 percent, and Romney with 13 percent. A Rassmussen Reports survey from about the same time shows McCain and Obama favorably positioned in Virginia.

The candidates with the hottest hands are most likely to dominate Feb. 12.

That was the case in 2004, when Sen. John F. Kerry of Massachusetts came into Virginia for the Feb. 10 Democratic primary after winning five states Feb. 3, followed by Michigan and Washington state the next weekend. He soundly defeated his closest competitors, Edwards and retired Army Gen. Wesley K. Clark.

Staff writers David Nakamura and Philip Rucker and researcher Meg Smith contributed to this report.