McCain makes one last campaign swing on election day

(CNN) – After voting at Albright United Methodist Church in Phoenix, Arizona, the Republican presidential candidate is headed to New Mexico and Colorado, two Western states McCain’s campaign believes he can win despite trailing in the polls.

The latest CNN poll of polls in New Mexico going into Election Day has McCain’s Democratic rival, Sen. Barack Obama, leading 51 percent to 43 percent with 6 percent unsure. The last poll of polls in Colorado has Obama leading 51 percent to 45 percent with 4 percent unsure.

McCain’s running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, voted in her home town of Wasilla, Alaska, on Tuesday morning. She later will head to Arizona for a post-election celebration.

The Republican nominee’s last campaign swing comes after he completed a seven-state campaign blitz on Monday. During that trip, he made a campaign stop in Nevada, another Western state in which he is trailing Obama.

But McCain campaign manager Rick Davis argued Monday that victories in the three Western battleground states Tuesday could help McCain overcome potential losses in Virginia and Florida and help the Arizona Republican win the 270 electoral votes needed to capture the White House. Video

“If we can win Nevada, Colorado and New Mexico, all of a sudden we’ve got a new pathway to victory,” he said. “Those weren’t even on the list three weeks ago.”

On Monday McCain campaigned in a number of battleground states he needs to turn his way if he is to win the presidency, including Florida and Pennsylvania.

“Just one day left until we take America in a new direction. We need to win in Pennsylvania and tomorrow, with your help, we will win,” McCain said, pounding his fist on the podium at an event in Moon Township, Pennsylvania.
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Putting Pennsylvania in the Republican column Tuesday night is especially critical to the Republican effort, as there are few paths McCain can take to get to the 270 electoral votes needed to win the election without the state’s 21 electoral votes.

Turning Pennsylvania from blue to red may be difficult for McCain. CNN’s poll of polls calculated Monday shows Obama leading McCain 51 percent to 43 percent in the state, with 6 percent unsure. The McCain campaign, however, says that their own polling suggests that the Pennsylvania race is tighter than published polls suggest.