Sen. Barack Obama is convincing Republicans to switch parties and vote for him.
The Illinois Democrat announced Monday that 68 New Hampshire Republicans were abandoning their party and supporting him.
But at least one of those voters | 50-year-old Lawrence Varga of Derry | won’t be able to vote for Obama because he missed the deadline to switch parties.
The deadline to change parties was announced with only one week’s notice last month in large part because the Granite State still hasn’t scheduled its primary. Secretary of State William Gardner is required by law to wait in order to ensure New Hampshire remains first in the nation.
Still, long-time Republican Varga said Obama has restored his hope for politics and the Democratic party. The Derry man said he thinks Obama will ultimately win the nomination, too.
“I’m tired of what’s going on in the White House. I’m tired of everything,” Varga said. “(But Obama) kind of restored my faith.”
Varga, who first considered himself a Democrat, switched to the Republican party in 1983 to follow Sen. Phil Graham, of Texas. Graham switched parties in a dispute stemming from his support for then-President Ronald Reagan’s economic policies. Varga lived in Texas at the time.
The Obama campaign | which has gained slightly in an ABC News/Washington Post poll in recent days | has been increasing pressure on Sen. Hillary Clinton, who still leads by some 20 percentage points in most national polls. The Obama camp has touted the freshman Senator’s crossover appeal in both New Hampshire and Iowa.
