Barack Obama Finding Strong Support in Rhode Island

As the presidential race rages on, voters from state after state are weighing in on which candidate they endorse for the White House. Television sound bites and newspaper comments report political news and developments from across the county, much of it focusing on larger states.

But not as much is heard from Rhode Island, the smallest state in the Union.

According to Wikipedia, the Rhode Island Democratic Party has dominated local politics since the Great Depression. Federally, Rhode Island is one of the most reliably Democratic states during presidential elections. Historically, the state was one of only six to vote against Ronald Reagan. Reagan did carry Rhode Island in his 49-state victory in 1984, but the state was the second weakest of the states he won. All but three of Rhode Island's 39 cities and towns voted Democrat, the only exceptions being East Greenwich, West Greenwich and Scituate.

According to the New York Times, the state has only 665,000 eligible voters, with a mere 32 delegates to the Democratic National Convention. But what it lacks in size is more than made up for in political enthusiasm.

Politics in Rhode Island are a major topic of conversation, often discussed with much passion and fervor. The anti-Republican sentiment can be felt when reading some of the online press releases posted on the state's Democratic website, ridemocrats.org. One from Feb. 14 read:

"Democratic Party Chairman Bill Lynch responded to a visit from John McCain and the Double Talk Express to Warwick today and called on Governor Carcieri and other leading Republican officials in the General Assembly to explain how they can support a candidate who is so out of touch with Rhode Island values."

'"Campaign McCain's 'extreme makeover' may help him pander to the right wing of the Republican Party, but the rest of Rhode Island's working families have already figured out that the Real McCain can't be trusted to provide the change they need," said Lynch."