Politics / Barack Obama Democrats Set Sights on Va. Obama staffers infiltrate red state By Jonas Oransky, Newser Staff Posted Jun 9, 2008 5:29 PM CDT Copied Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., center, is joined on stage by Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, left, and Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., right. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) Barack Obama staffers have quietly been working Virginia, a red state Democrats hope to flip, for at least the past month, the Washington Post reports. Their focus is voter registration, with Tim Kaine's strategy in his successful 2005 gubernatorial campaign as a model. "We have never seen this kind of political activity in a general election cycle in Virginia, ever,” said the chairman of the Fairfax County Democratic Committee. "Having paid professionals, who get to focus on this full time, makes a huge difference." (More Barack Obama stories.) Report an error