President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign is celebrating the opening of its Arkansas headquarters as it tries to rally support in a state where the president remains deeply unpopular.
Jim Messina, Obama’s campaign manager, planned to speak Tuesday night at the grand opening of the campaign office in downtown North Little Rock. Messina was also scheduled to headline a fundraiser for the president at Juanita’s in downtown Little Rock.
Polls have shown Obama with low approval ratings in Arkansas. Republican nominee John McCain beat Obama by 20 points in the state in the 2008 presidential election.
Though several cabinet officials have visited the state, Obama hasn’t appeared in Arkansas since campaigning for Mike Beebe’s successful gubernatorial bid in 2006.