Barack Obama is expected to arrive in Hawai'i tomorrow with his family to begin a weeklong vacation before preparations for the Democratic National Convention in Denver later this month.

Local Obama organizers are still discussing the details of a potential public appearance by the Hawai'i-born Democrat, but he is confirmed for a private fundraiser on Tuesday at The Kahala Resort.

Obama is expected to be traveling with his wife, Michelle, and their two daughters. His sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, and his grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, live in the Islands.

The trip has been described by U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawai'i, and others as a chance for Obama to recharge in a familiar setting before the pressures of the convention and the fall campaign. But many local Obama supporters, who have been volunteering and raising money for him for more than a year, are eager to see him in person and enthusiastic for a public event.

Obama, a U.S. senator from Illinois, usually visits his family during the Christmas holidays but he has not been back since December 2006 because of his campaign schedule.

Obama would be the first major party presidential nominee to visit the Islands during a campaign since Richard Nixon in 1960.

During this election cycle, only independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader and U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, who ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination, have campaigned in the Islands.

Vice President Dick Cheney appeared at a campaign rally at the Hawai'i Convention Center before the 2004 elections.