By: Kelly Whitmire CUMMING -- A candidate seeking a state Senate seat opened a new office and met with Forsyth County voters this week. Democratic state Senate candidate Daniel Blackman held an open house on Tuesday for his new campaign office in downtown Cumming. Blackman will face off against the incumbent, Republican state Sen. Michael Williams. “It was really about letting people know that in November there is an option,” Blackman said. “It’s not about just a Democrat running against a Republican, it’s about knowing that there is someone willing to challenge what we have and hold people accountable.” Blackman, who has lived in the county for about four years, said his entire campaign will operate out of the office, which is located at 204 Dahlonega Street. “The office is going to be ground zero for everything,” he said. “We’re going to be doing phone banking out of here, we’re going to be fundraising, we’re going to be deploying canvassers, we’re going to be distributing information on everything from the Opportunity School District to [Senate Resolution] 7, which is a resolution to end human trafficking in the state.” “It was a pretty good turnout,” said Jean Braun, a party member. “Daniel is super inspiring. I love his passion and his energy, and he definitely showed that tonight in his speech.” The evening allowed voters and attendees to meet the candidate and tour the new office, with addresses from: Blackman and his wife; Wilma Turner, chair of the Forsyth County Democratic Party; Clarkston Mayor Ted Terry; and Anita Tucker, who is running for the District 5 school board seat. Terry told attendees they need to get out and vote and change the perception of Democrats in what is historically a heavily Republican county. “In the campaign season, during election time, you can be excused for being political,” he said. “We know that because Democrats really haven’t ran that much … in recent memory up here, that the idea of a Democrat is sort of foreign. They may think of a West Coast Democrat or liberal Northeast Democrat so we have to … change their expectations of what it means to be a Forsyth County Democrat.”