It’s official. Oprah Winfrey is hitting the campaign trail in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina to stump for Barack Obama. While some strategists believe Oprah “will help Obama reach stay-at-home moms and other women who do not closely follow politics,” others say the plan could backfire:

One Democratic official said: “Oprah is no doubt one of the biggest endorsements a candidate could get. The $64,000 question is: Will Iowa caucus goers appreciate a Hollywood megastar telling them who to vote for? Has she stepped into the state of Iowa before? If I were them, I’d tread carefully, not because of Oprah’s influence, but because of Iowans’ independence.”

One thing’s for sure, though: Women who wouldn’t have given a thought to going to an Obama rally before will now be scrambling for tickets so they can see their beloved talk show host.