McCain, Obama compete across reshaped U.S. electoral map

Still, his decision to spend some of his time in the final hours on Democratic turf signaled that McCain had concluded that his chances of winning with the same lineup of states that put Bush into the White House was diminishing.

U.S. Republican presidential nominee Senator John McCain (R-AZ) speaks at a campaign rally in Newport News,  Virginia Nov. 1, 2008.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

McCain's hopes appear to rest in large part on his ability to pick up electoral votes from states that Senator John Kerry won for the Democrats four years ago.

The campaign's final days brought a reminder of how Obama's financial might had allowed him to redraw the political map.

On Sunday, Obama will visit Florida, North Carolina and Virginia, which went Republican four years ago.

His campaign manager, David Plouffe, said the campaign was confident of holding onto New Hampshire and Pennsylvania.

McCain and his advisers said they saw evidence they were gaining on Obama as McCain hammered away at his message that Obama would raise taxes.

But the bulk of his last-minute campaign spending and appearances by McCain were in places like Florida, North Carolina and Virginia.

"If the race were closer, the states McCain should be going to would be blue states," said Matthew Dowd, chief strategist to Bush in 2004.

"He's campaigning as if he knows he's significantly behind," he added.

Editor:Zhang Pengfei