HORACE LANGFORD JR. / PVT Congressional candidate Jill Derby sent campaign staffers to the grand opening of Barack Obama's new "Campaign for Change" headquarters in Pahrump. From left to right, Theresa Nevarro, Cingy Trigg and Dina Jordan stump for the Capitol Hill hopeful. Advertisement

Even though Nevada's 15 minutes of caucus-season fame ended months ago, the campaign of presidential candidate Barack Obama still sees the state's rural areas as key battlegrounds.

According to blogger and local Obama volunteer Jack Wood, that's why the Democrat's campaign opened a new office on Saturday at Highway 160 and Mesquite Avenue.

The grand opening was attended by dozens of area residents.

"They're looking at it. The Obama campaign does consider Nevada as a very important swing state to win," said Wood, (a former Nye County Democrat Central Committee official.)

Campaign volunteers, including Wood, said Obama's new "Campaign for Change" Pahrump headquarters would enhance their efforts.

"Having a central point of focus is a good thing," said Wood. "People can make contact here and find out what they can do. So having an office is an important thing. It's a communication center."

C.J. Ross, who spent the afternoon signing up volunteers and making contact with supporters, said the new office will allow the crew to pick up where it left off before the caucus.

"It gives us a place to be organized," she said. "We can get back in touch with people who have been kind of fading away. It will give us a chance to kind of stir things up again."

Event-goers were treated to snacks and drinks, as well as a set of patriotic standards by campaign volunteer and keyboardist Kelly Allman.

"Today's theme is like 19th-century music, late 1800s and Civil War tunes," he said.

Allman, who said he was excited about the new office and hoped to play future campaign gigs, said he arranged his song list to mirror the history of the United States.

"Music and politics go together," he added.

The "Campaign for Change" office will be open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday noon to 9 p.m.

Ironically, the Obama office had been, during the primary campaign, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's local presidential campaign headquarters.