Ten miles away in the corner of a mostly vacant suburban office park that is alongside Interstate 75 , Republicans plot and push for GOP pols in a room full of long tables covered with phones and stacked high with candidate door hangers.

In this contentious and busy political year, Northern Kentucky's Republicans and Democrats are operating out of headquarters that reflect the support, history and, to an extent, ideologies and philosophies of the parties.

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Democrats are operating out of a collection of small offices in an older building at 302 Court St., directly across from the Kenton County Administration Building in Covington.

The fit appears perfect. Democrats, particularly in Northern Kentucky, have a long history of close connection to government institutions and strong support in urban areas and established neighborhoods - places like Covington, Newport, Dayton and Bellevue.

But that's not always the case. Gov. Ernie Fletcher, a Republican, ran well in Northern Kentucky's riverfront basin in last year's gubernatorial race. And two GOP state senators, Katie Stine in Campbell County and Jack Westwood in Kenton County, represent the river communities in Frankfort.

But the Democratic activists working in the office on a rainy Wednesday morning seemed more than comfortable in their surroundings. The setting includes a life-sized Hillary Clinton cutout in the corner, an unflattering balloon doll of President Bush on a desk and campaign material - literature, buttons, posters - piled or scattered nearly everywhere.

Some of the desks have computers, others don't. A map of Boone County voting precincts hangs on the wall. There are a few telephones for phone banks, but with virtually no money from the state Democratic Party volunteers use cell phones to contact voters.

Ryan Donaghy, 22, a recent college graduate with a degree in - what else? - political science is there most days.

"I love it," she proclaims. "It's so exciting to be a part of this. I love the action and the activity. It's what politics is really all about," she said.

There is no paid staff; everyone who comes in, and on some days there are dozens of people, are volunteers.

The headquarters is by far the most elaborate and ambitious effort the Democratic Party has put on in years. Fort Mitchell lawyer Bob Sanders and Kenton County Democratic Party official Steve Hoffman organized the operation after returning from the July Democratic National Convention in Boston.

"We came back and decided we were conceding nothing," said Sanders, who was a delegate to the convention and claims to be undaunted by the GOP's strength in Northern Kentucky and Bush's 17-point lead in statewide polls.

From here phone calls are made to voters, literature drops are coordinated, campaign materials are available and strategy sessions are held.

Out in Florence, the level of energy and the basic strategy is the same in the Victory 2004 office, headquarters for the Northern Kentucky GOP's political ground game. But the setting and the tactics are different.

Republicans are holed up in a large room in a suburban office park. There is probably no coincidence that the headquarters is in Boone County. Based on voter registrations, it is the largest GOP controlled county in the state.

Northern Kentucky Republicans receive much of their regional dominance from voters in suburbs just like this. As the area's population base has grown away from the river in the last 20 to 30 years, so has the GOP's power, success in elections and voter base. The various demographic groups that political parties tend to target - soccer moms, NASCAR dads, suburban dwellers and high-income professionals - are just as at home here as are the Republicans.

A paid staffer and recent law school grad named Daniel Carey - the 24-year-old son of 4th District GOP Chairman Marcus Carey - runs the operation. There are 30 phones set out across long banquet-style tables for a volunteer phone bank and, thousands of door hangers for the party's 72-hour pre-election blitz that begins this weekend. By Tuesday, more than 4 million pieces of hand-stamped campaign mailers will have moved through the office to voters throughout Northern Kentucky, the 4th Congressional District and the entire state.

Computers are located throughout the office and a big-screen TV sits in a corner. Fox News is usually tuned in.

"We'll be running shifts of 60 to 70 volunteers all weekend right up through Election Day," said Marcus Carey. "But really, people have been working hard for months. There has been a couple of nights people worked until 4 a.m.

"It's like being back in college."

E-mail pcrowley@enquirer.com