Feb. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Kansas hasn't backed a Democrat for U.S. president since Lyndon Johnson in 1964. Governor Kathleen Sebelius says Barack Obama may break that streak.

``People are clearly willing to vote outside their party lines if they believe in the vision and in the person,'' Sebelius, who endorsed Obama last week, said in an interview. Obama brings in voters from all parties and is encouraging young people to ``come to the table as Democrats,'' she said.

As Democratic voters in 22 states go to the polls today, Obama's support in Republican-leaning ``Red States'' will give him more ammunition to challenge Senator Hillary Clinton for a majority of the 1,681 delegates at stake, experts say. Obama, 46, of Illinois, who last week was rated the Senate's most liberal member by National Journal magazine, is favored to win most of the five Republican strongholds -- Alaska, Idaho, North Dakota, Colorado and Kansas -- holding caucuses.

In recent weeks, Obama has snared endorsements from numerous Red State Democratic officeholders. In addition to Sebelius, 59, he's backed by Senators Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Kent Conrad of North Dakota, Claire McCaskill of Missouri and Tim Johnson of South Dakota, former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota, and Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano.

`Fertile Ground'

The response to Obama's campaign in the Republican-leaning states reflects the enthusiasm the candidate has sparked as much as any nuts-and-bolts effort to get out the vote.

Last week, with the temperature at 18 below zero, 180 students at the University of North Dakota ignored warnings about setting foot outside on the coldest night of the year and packed into a coffee shop for an Obama event with actor Dule Hill.

Obama's campaign has invested time and money in caucus states like Kansas, Alaska and North Dakota in an effort to bring new people into the process from across demographic and party lines, his aides say. Clinton, 60, of New York and other recent Democratic presidential hopefuls haven't.

``It's very fertile ground for us,'' Steve Hildebrand, Obama's deputy campaign manager, said of states holding caucuses, where some 13 percent of delegates will be chosen today.

Obama last week visited three of the five Republican- dominated states, underscoring the attention his campaign has paid to those caucuses since last fall. When all eyes were on Iowa, which held the first-in-the-nation contest that he won on Jan. 3, his aides were also deployed in Kansas, Minnesota, Idaho, Alaska, North Dakota and Colorado trying to persuade people to attend the caucuses.

All About Organization

While voters in primary elections choose candidates in private, caucus-goers usually meet, sometimes for hours, to publicly voice their support for a candidate.

``A caucus campaign by necessity requires a longer period of organization,'' said John Norris, a campaign adviser. Among the groups being targeted are young voters and students. In Kansas, the campaign is also drawing crowds of Native Americans -- who make up just 1 percent of the state's population.

``Whether or not you participate will show how strong Indian country can be in making a difference in this election,'' Daschle told 150 students and teachers at Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence last week.

Clinton a `Liability'

Some Red State lawmakers are backing Obama for pragmatic reasons -- they're concerned that having Clinton at the top of the ticket may polarize the electorate and cause state and local Democratic candidates to lose their own jobs, said Melvin Kahn, a member of the Central Kansas Democratic Committee. ``Clinton is a liability,'' Kahn said.

Clinton aides scoff at the notion that she isn't competitive in the contests, noting her live Webcast town-hall meeting last night with 21 of the states holding elections today.

Notably absent from the states where she's advertising are some of those holding caucuses, such as Kansas and North Dakota.

``You have to make choices,'' said adviser Doug Hattaway.

In North Dakota, Dan Hannaher, a former Democratic Party chairman, hasn't received mail from her campaign in the last month.

In Alaska, where 13 delegates are in play, the caucus sites more than doubled to 35 in the last month. Obama has the most paid staff members of any campaign, according to Mike Coumbe, executive director of the state's Democratic Party who isn't endorsing either candidate. Obama's campaign accepted an offer to rent space in party headquarters in Anchorage; Clinton and former Senator John Edwards declined, Coumbe said.

Calls Every Day

Democratic Party chairmen in counties throughout Kansas, where Obama's mother was from, say they're getting dozens of calls a day from Republicans and independents asking how to register as Democrats.

``I've had some Republicans that for the first time are interested in voting for a Democratic president because of Barack,'' said Glenn Staab, Democratic chairman of Ellis County.

Staab, an Obama supporter, receives almost nightly calls from the campaign and said he hasn't gotten a single one from Clinton's people.

``I've actually had Democrats call me and say, `Can you tell them I'm going to vote for Obama, and tell them to quit calling?'''

To contact the reporter on this story: Julianna Goldman in Lawrence, Kansas, at jgoldman6@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: February 5, 2008 00:06 EST