A Barack Obama win in Wyoming in November ranges somewhere between fat chance, slim chance and snowball's chance.

But the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate plans to set up offices in Wyoming and other red states that would otherwise be written off as lost causes, according to an interview of Obama's deputy campaign manager, Steve Hildebrand, by Politico.com. on Wednesday.

Politico.com cited the experience of Democrat Gary Trauner of Wilson, who lost by about 1,000 votes to six-term incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Barbara Cubin in 2006.

"Hildebrand�s plans underscore the unusual scope and ambition of Obama�s campaign, which can relatively cheaply extend its massive volunteer and technological resources into states which won�t necessarily produce electoral votes," according to Politico.com.

The tactic probably won't persuade the two-thirds of Wyoming's registered voters who are Republicans to cast their ballots for the first-term Illinois senator. Rather, it's intended to inspire Obama's supporters to work for federal, state and local Democratic candidates in the state, Wyoming Democratic Party Director Bill Luckett said Wednesday.

"Even though they may not carry every state, having people in those states will help carry that message all the way down the ballot," Luckett said.

While the decision by the Obama campaign to open an office in Wyoming isn't surprising, the party has not been notified formally of where or when the Obama campaign will set up shop in the state, Luckett said.

The campaign of the one-term Illinois senator is focusing on opening offices in major battleground states, and probably then will turn to other states like Wyoming in July, he said.

Despite the really long odds of an Obama victory in Wyoming, Luckett isn't discouraged.

While polls can have their problems, he cited one in May by Research 2000 that gave presumptive Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a 53 percent to 40 percent lead over Obama.

"This kind of puts us on the cusp," Luckett said. "It's not single digits, but it's striking distance."

In the past eight years, the presidential races in Wyoming and the coattails enjoyed by statewide Republicans have trounced Democrats because of the presence of Wyoming favorite son Dick Cheney on the ballot, he said.

The Bush-Cheney ticket won by more than 40 percentage points in 2000 and 2004, Luckett said.

That advantage is gone now, and the margin may be closer to 1996, when President Clinton lost in Wyoming to GOP presidential candidate Bob Dole, R-Kan., by 15 percentage points, he said.

Besides the loss of the Cheney advantage, Democrats in Wyoming have enjoyed the increased voter registration stemming from the record Democratic caucuses in March, coupled with visits from both Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y.

Change, Luckett said, can be overworked as a buzz-word.

"It's not just change for change sake, but to change the partisanship since Newt Gingrich in 1994," he said, referring to the GOP's wins in Congress that year.

The Wyoming GOP isn't impressed with the prospect of a local Obama office, said spokeswoman Amy Larimer.

"We have heard the same rumor," Larimer said.

A Wyoming office doesn't change the Republican Party's focus, she said.

"We're very strong and will be able to back our candidates from the grassroots," Larimer said.

Reach Tom Morton at (307) 266-0616, or at Tom.Morton@trib.com.