Suzanne Gelderman, who has worked for the campaign helping to organize Western states, will lead the Obama campaign's efforts in Utah.

"When I told people I was going out to Utah, I got a similar question, if there are any Democrats in Utah and I said, 'You know, there are more than you think,' " Gelderman, who arrived in Utah on Friday afternoon, told a group of local Democratic leaders Saturday.

Gelderman said the campaign hopes that the effort will start to move Utah in the same direction politically as its Western neighbors, which have changed from Republican states to Democratic states.

"We've seen it happen in Colorado. Montana is getting close," she said. "We might not make it there this November [in Utah], but together we can get there."

Even if Obama doesn't win the state, Gelderman said, getting people excited about voting for a Democrat helps the party in other races on the ballot.

For now, Obama's campaign is the only one with a Utah office. John McCain's campaign has regional offices in New Mexico and Arizona, but is relying on an all-volunteer organization in Utah. That could change as Election Day nears.

Either way, the McCain campaign says Obama is wasting money in Utah.

"No matter how much they spend, we're confident that Barack Obama's support of higher taxes and opposition to the Second Amendment, when contrasted with John McCain's support of traditional values and lifetime of putting his country above all else, will make his campaign a nonstarter with Utah's voters," said McCain spokesman Jeff Sadosky.

Kirk Jowers, director of the Hinckley Institute of Politics at the University of Utah, said that if Utah is competitive in November, the election would already be a historic blowout at that point.

"It's hard to imagine this would have an impact," he said. But by reaching out beyond his base, Obama could benefit in the future and, Jowers said, "Obama has money to burn."

The Obama campaign has said it will have offices in every state, made possible because of the campaign's unprecedented fundraising. "Utah is very symbolic of our 50-state strategy," Gelderman said. "Utah deserves to have a voice, just as much as California and New York."

Gelderman joined the Obama campaign as deputy director of Western caucus states. Obama picked up key delegates in caucus states, like Colorado, Idaho and Washington, that helped him stay in the nomination fight with his opponent, Hillary Clinton.

She was the political director in Colorado and worked in Iowa, Texas and Puerto Rico. Most recently she organized the early voting program in Montana.

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* MATT CANHAM contributed to this report.