By Melody Rames-Wiggins
Caribbean Net News St Croix Correspondent
Email: melody@caribbeannetnews.com

ST CROIX, USVI: Presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama will be the guest of honour at a big ticket event to be held November 5 at the Ritz-Carlton, St Thomas. Organisers say the visit is not only a campaign fund raiser; it is a demonstration of the candidate's interest in the region.

Presidential Candidate Senator Barack Obama. AFP PHOTO

"This event has been planned for a long time," said VI Democratic State Chair Cecil Benjamin, one of the organizers of the visit. "Obama is interested in our problems and this is a way for him to show he is interested."

Benjamin said this visit was a collaboration between Puerto Rico Democratic State Chair Roberto Pratts and the VI Obama will spend some time in the Virgin Islands, before heading off to Puerto Rico.

Benjamin continued by saying presidential candidates "can no longer ignore the Caribbean" and both Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands may be poised "for the first time to be part of American politics."

Benjamin said Puerto Rico with its' population of approximately 4 million is an important player in the presidential nomination.

The reception starts at 8 a.m. on Monday, November 5 at the Ritz-Carlton, St Thomas . RSVP's are required and a donation of $2,300 for a "Friend of Obama for America " and $1,000 for a "Guest of Obama for America ." $2,300 is the total an individual can contribute per presidential election.

The US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico are Unincorporated Territories of the United States and cannot vote for President although they can select delegates to cast a vote in the presidential primaries.