On Saturday, the Warren County resident pledged her support for Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee. "I found out years ago politicians do impact my life," Ross said. "I decided not to sit back and complain." Ross was one of over 20 supporters on hand Saturday afternoon during the opening of the local Obama campaign headquarters, located at 609 E. Veterans Memorial Highway in Warrenton. A meet-and-greet session was held to get the local campaign drive under way, which will include a grassroots effort from volunteers canvassing the area. Joining Ross in attendance was Lynn DeLean-Weber, a resident of Marthasville for 13 years and a registered Republican. This is the first time she has been involved with a campaign of any sorts. "This year has fired me up," she said. "To me there is too much at stake. We just cannot keep going in the direction that we're going." DeLean-Weber added that the current Republican regime is making more enemies and alienating its allies. Her stepson is a U.S. Marine and will be deployed to Iraq in February. "First and foremost, (Obama) is the person most capable of leading this country into a new direction," DeLean-Weber said. "I do think he is smart enough to surround himself with people that have the expertise he doesn't have. The biggest thing I think is he is a bridge builder." On Saturday, the Warrenton headquarters were bare and in need of furniture. Following this week of makeshift hours, Obama campaign officials in attendance said the office will be open full time from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week beginning Aug. 1. Local Obama supporters will help the campaign's drive to register more voters, either by phone, door-to-door or attending community events. Campaign officials said they have a detailed demographic list volunteers will follow. The deadline to register for the presidential election is Oct. 8. "We need them to give their time to volunteer," said Gene Hite, Warren County Democratic Central chair, in regards to needing more local involvement. "These campaigns aren't cheap. No matter what the level is, they are always expensive. Everyone is open to donations. It's going to take people getting involved." The Warrenton location was one of 24 offices opened by the Barack campaign over the weekend, bringing its office total to 27 throughout the state, according the Obama's Web site. Other locations with close proximity to Warrenton include Union and St. Peters. Additional offices are expected to pop up around the state in the coming weeks, campaign officials said. Hite was thrilled to see Warren County, predominantly Republican, picked as a location. To him it showed the Obama campaign had done its homework at choosing locations that could sway voters come election time. "I think it's awesome," Hite said. "They feel it's going to make an impact. It's going to help draw people out. We have a lot of Democrats that don't come out and participate. I wish we had the impact and cooperation the Republican party has here. (But) the numbers are changing." Dan Hampson, Republican Party chairman, believes the local headquarters is a positive for the area. "The better voters are informed, the better Americans we are," he said. "There are a lot of voters in Warren County that vote for the candidate rather than the party."