A group of University of Wisconsin students traveled to Dubuque, Iowa, Sunday in hopes of electing Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, as the next president of the United States.

Forty-four members of UW Students for Obama knocked on doors in various areas around Dubuque, discussing issues relevant to residents.

"We just went house-to-house around the community, knocking on doors, gauging people's interests, seeing if they're planning on caucusing for Obama or another Democratic candidate, and just seeing where their interests lie," said Students for Obama Vice Chair Ami ElShareif, who will be taking over for current chair Andrew Gordon this month.

ElShareif said caucusing in Iowa will play a significant role in who gets the official nomination for the 2008 Democratic presidential candidate.

"Iowa is so important because it is the first caucus," ElShareif said. "The first thing people see when they look at the newspapers is who won the caucus, so everybody wants to back a winner."

ElShareif said the Iowa caucus will take place in early January, although the exact date is yet to be determined.

"People tend to float to the candidates that get the most support at the caucuses, so Iowa is definitely a priority for the campaign and for us on campus," ElShareif said.

Students for Obama member Ebonie Gurham said Obama received plenty of support in Iowa yesterday, despite the beautiful weather and concurrent sporting events.

"A lot of people came out to say, ‘Yeah, I'm supporting Obama, but I got to get back to my game,'" Gurham said.

Gurham said the biggest issues Dubuque residents wanted to hear about were social security and the Iraq War.

"The war in Iraq was the main issue that they wanted to hear more about, but they were specifically looking for Obama to talk more about was a specific plan or even a timeline for exiting Iraq," Gurham said.

Gurham added she felt positive about Obama's future and the presidential race.

"I think the fact that Obama is now leading in the polls in Iowa is reflected in the response that I got today from a lot of people," Gurham said.

According to a new Newsweek poll, Obama is the top Democratic candidate of likely Iowan caucus goers. Obama earned 28 percent of support, ahead of Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-New York, who earned 24 percent, and former Sen. John Edwards, who earned 22 percent.

ElShareif said she also felt confident about Obama.

"There's so many problems going on in America right now, and we really need a change, and we need a new face in politics," ElShareif said. "I think Obama really is the candidate that can bring a new hope to America's politics and get rid of some of the cynicism that so many Americans have because of the current state of our nation."

ElSharif said Students for Obama is currently focusing on the senator's Oct. 15 visit to Madison.

"We want this to be a huge rally," ElShareif said. "It's both for the students and the Madison community, but we want to have a lot of student support there."