Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama battled today in states that voted Republican in 2004 in the final, frenetic weekend of a long and grinding US presidential election campaign.
Mr McCain was in Virginia looking to turn out the vote on Tuesday in a state that normally votes Republican but appears to be siding with Mr Obama.
"We need to win Virginia on the fourth of November and with your help we're going to win," a spirited Mr McCain said, exhorting supporters to "volunteer, knock on doors."
"With your help we can and will win," he said. "We're coming back and we're coming back in Virginia."
Mr Obama, enjoying a lead in national polls and in many key battleground states where the election will be decided, sought a knockout punch in three states that went for President George W Bush in 2004 - Nevada, Colorado and Missouri.
Nowhere to be seen on the campaign trail was Mr Bush himself. With a popularity rating below 30 percent, Mr Bush was not asked to campaign for Mr McCain. Mr Obama has consistently sought to portray his opponent as a Bush clone.
If current polling is accurate and stands up on Election Day, Mr Obama will win, possibly by a comfortable margin.
But Mr McCain and his aides see signs of hope from their own polling as well as some public opinion polls.
A Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby poll released on Saturday said Mr Obama's lead on Mr McCain dipped slightly to 5 points.
"There is no doubt that McCain made some gains," said pollster John Zogby. "It is enough to raise the question, is McCain making a move?"
Mr Obama's aides say they have built a campaign operation aimed at winning close contests with hundreds of thousands of volunteers. The Obama campaign is so flush with cash that it took the step of buying advertising time in Mr McCain's home state of Arizona because aides sensed an opening there.
Mr McCain sees his best chance to take away a traditionally Democratic state in Pennsylvania, where Mr Obama has the lead.