CNN: September 13, 2007
Obama: Oprah interested in campaigning
Obama said Thursday Oprah may stump for him on the trail.
COLUMBIA, South Carolina (CNN) — Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said in a TV interview here Thursday that having Oprah Winfrey in South Carolina "would be a lot of fun for everyone," and added the popular television host has expressed interest in hitting the stump. In the interview with South Carolina's ETV, Obama also called Oprah and and his wife Michelle "two powerhouse women."
Oprah is supporting Obama's presidential bid, and hosted a lavish fundraiser for the senator from Illinois at her estate in Montecito, California, last weekend.
Asked if Oprah would come stump for him in this crucial early primary state, Obama said: "I can't make promises, but I know that she has expressed an interest in South Carolina and maybe we can pull that … Certainly it would be a lot of fun for everyone." Obama did the interview by phone from Iowa.
Why would Oprah's presence here matter? Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton are battling to win over African-American women voters in this state, and a new poll from ETV and Winthrop University that will be released tonight shows Obama and Clinton dead even among African-American women.
"The real tipping point in the Democratic primary election may be undecided African-American female voters - there are many more African-American female undecideds than males," Winthrop University political scientist Scott Huffmon said in a news release.
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2007/09/13/obama-oprah-interested-in-campaigning/