And then there were 49.

At least, that was what Barack Obama’s campaign was essentially saying on Sept. 21, when they announced their plans to pull the campaign out of North Dakota.

The announcement came unexpectedly, sending campaign workers in a rush to pack up boxes and move out of the 11 offices scattered throughout the state on Sunday afternoon.

Obama, the first Democratic presidential candidate to ever set up campaign offices in North Dakota, had positioned more than 50 staffers and campaign workers in the state in July to try to close the gap between him and John McCain. Back then, supporters and volunteers in the state were ecstatic that their candidate had devoted resources to North Dakota, and the state’s three electoral votes.

Today, a group of dedicated volunteers have vowed to keep doing exactly what they’ve been doing for the last few months: make phone calls, knock on doors, and encourage people to vote early for Obama.

The former Bismarck headquarters, a sparse office space that’s split with the state Democratic campaign headquarters, still has the homemade “Bismarck for Barack” posters on the walls and a phone bank set up to make campaign calls. The only thing that’s different are the people.

Ethan Hoepfner, 17, devotes a few hours a week to the Obama campaign, even though he won’t be able to vote in November. When he heard the “horrible news,” he said he was disappointed, but not discouraged.

“I took a step back, and I thought about how a Democrat hasn’t competed, really, in North Dakota since 1964, so I’m just thankful that Barack Obama did compete here in North Dakota, as much as he did, for a red state,” Hoepfner said.

He said he wasn’t angry that the campaign made an early exit from the state, and still believes that Obama has a chance to win in North Dakota. “There’s just more chances for him to win in other states,” he said.

States like Wisconsin and Minnesota, where the campaign staffers from North Dakota were sent. Those two states have a larger number of electoral votes, and currently, a tighter race between Obama and McCain.

“Right now, we’re just looking for donations, and volunteers. Any hardworking people who are driven to elect Barack Obama president,” said Hoepfner. “I’m still going to do everything I can to make sure he’s elected. “

In a prepared statement, the former communications director for North Dakota, Jan Messerschmidt , wrote that the Obama campaign succeeded in generating enthusiasm and excitement in North Dakota, and praised the volunteers and staffers.

“We always knew it would be an uphill battle,” the statement read. “But because people across the country in red states and blue states are hungry for change, we built a grassroots movement we are proud of and an infrastructure that will help candidates up and down the ballot.”

Television ads for Obama were also pulled from the state over the weekend.

 For now, the Obama supporters have regrouped and begun a new organization called North Dakota Grassroots for Obama, or NDGO for short. They’re not affiliated with the official campaign, and they’re still trying to figure out their next step.

With this effort, the volunteers say their party is still more active than the Republicans in the state. McCain hasn’t set up any North Dakota campaign offices, and has yet to visit North Dakota this election season. Obama has made two stops, in April and July.   

Republicans in the state said they weren’t surprised with the campaign’s decision.

Gary Emineth, the chairman of the state Republican Party, told the AP that he believed the turning point in the campaign was John McCain’s decision to choose Sarah Palin as a running mate.

“We had so much energy come to the McCain campaign when Sarah Palin hit the ticket,” Emineth said. “It shocked me… I said, it’s just a matter of time before [Obama] pulls out of the state and the race will be over.”

But NDGO doesn’t think that’s the case.

“I think we can definitely still win North Dakota,” said Katy Korynta, 19, a volunteer who’s been working with the Obama campaign for about a month. “We’re still going to be here. There’s still going to be people working to help him get there, so it’s not over.”

To her, the campaign pulling out of the state wasn’t as much of a drawback as it’s become a reason to work even harder.

“It made me really motivated,” she said. “We never really skipped a beat. The doors here never closed, we don’t plan on closing them. We’re going to keep going.”

Likening the current state of the North Dakota campaign to Obama’s grassroots effort, Korynta said she sees NDGO’s new role as building upon the staffer’s work.

 “We’re a grassroots movement strictly now, and we kind of look at it as, that’s how Barack Obama’s campaign had been the entire time. It came from the ground up,” she said. “I think it’s awesome that they came here, and they laid the groundwork for us, and now we’re taking over, moving on.”

The group is planning for the next six weeks of the campaign, and trying to get more Democrats and undecided voters in the state involved.

 “It’s about meeting people and talking to them. If we keep up with this, then I really think we can convince them that this is the right choice,” Korynta said. “I have to keep that optimism. This is a really big deal. Change needs to happen, and we have to help.”