DEMOCRATIC SURGE
Obama hopes a surge in Democratic voter registration, along with record turnout among young and black voters, can help propel his message of change and break down partisan boundaries that have hemmed in the party's recent nominees.
Democrats see major opportunities in the West, where they have made strides as the Hispanic population grows - even though Obama has struggled to win over Hispanics.
The prime targets in the West include New Mexico, Colorado and Nevada, all narrowly won by Bush. But those three states combined have only 19 electoral votes -- less than Ohio, Florida or Pennsylvania individually.
Obama also hopes record turnout among blacks will help make a few Southern states competitive, particularly Virginia, which has shifted toward Democrats in recent elections as the growing northern suburbs outside Washington account for one-third of state voters.
"Colorado is definitely in play and we are doing very well in Nevada and New Mexico," said Obama campaign manager David Plouffe. "We think it opens a number of states and it will force McCain to play on a very, very wide playing field, and play a lot more defence than we will be."
McCain, a former Vietnam prisoner of war, hopes his ability to appeal to independents and Obama's difficulties with white working-class voters make for a winning combination in crucial blue-collar battlegrounds like Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Obama's struggles with Hispanics and Jewish voters also are a bad combination in Florida, where McCain already has made several stops. McCain is airing a television ad focused on the economy in Michigan and Pennsylvania. It earlier appeared in Iowa.
"The question for Obama is whether he can stack up enough Virginias and Colorados to offset states like Ohio and Pennsylvania," Schnur said.
Opinion polls show a tight race nationally and in most key states. The sharp partisan divide of the last two elections - noted by the red and blue colours used to differentiate states on television maps - is still alive and well.
"Ultimately at the end of the day there will be a couple of states in play on each side that weren't in play before, but the red and blue divide is still pretty stark," said Doug Schoen, a Democratic consultant and former adviser to President Bill Clinton.
