Story Created:
Nov 3, 2008 at 12:03 PM EST
Story Updated:
Nov 3, 2008 at 7:09 PM EST
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Unexpectedly undecided Indiana is drawing both John McCain and Barack Obama back for last-minute campaign stops before voting ends Tuesday in their quests for the state's electoral votes.
Indiana hasn't backed a Democratic presidential candidate since Lyndon Johnson won the state in 1964, but recent polls have shown the race between Obama and McCain as a dead heat.
McCain spoke at an airport rally Monday afternoon in Indianapolis — his first stop in the state since July 1. Republicans hoped McCain's visit would bolster the state's long-standing conservative leanings.
"We've got the momentum, my friends. We've got it." McCain told the crowd. "Indiana is now a battleground state, but it's a battle we're going to win."
Democrats said the visit was too little, too late.
"If John McCain thinks he can ignore Indiana, show up for a brief stop in the final hours of this election without talking about the issues that Hoosiers care about, and win votes, he has another think coming," said Lauren Smith, spokeswoman for the Indiana Democratic Party.
Obama planned to visit the Indianapolis area on Tuesday in his ninth Indiana campaign stop since mid-July.
The Obama campaign released no details, saying the Illinois senator planned to meet voters in person and ask for their support. Obama's Indiana stop on Tuesday comes as he travels to Chicago for a massive rally in Grant Park.
Many Hoosiers, meanwhile, have already voted.
As of Monday, 631,906 people had cast early absentee ballots — more than 14 percent of the state's 4.5 million registered voters.
Secretary of State Todd Rokita was hoping for a smoother election night than the one in the May primary.
Lake County results came in late on primary night, but election administrators say they are adding counting stations for absentee ballots and have created a separate problem-solving station so ballot questions won't bog down the counting process during the general election.
Rokita said it sometimes takes time to get fair and correct results.
"I'm not going to sacrifice fairness or accuracy for speed," Rokita said.
Many voters were drawn to the polls this year because of the presidential election, but Tuesday's election will also determine control of the governor's office and the Statehouse.
Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels, who introduced McCain at Monday's rally, has outraised and outspent Democratic challenger Jill Long Thompson. Polls have shown Daniels with a wide lead over Long Thompson.
Daniels' campaign spokesman, Cam Savage, said they feel confident about Daniels winning a second term but are taking nothing for granted.
"We have knocked on tens of thousands of doors and made hundreds of thousands of phone calls," he said Monday. "We're not going to let up one bit through Election Day. There seems to be a lot of enthusiasm for the way he has taken the state the last four years."
In the Statehouse, Republicans are expected to keep their grip on the state Senate. But the Indiana House is up for grabs as Democrats try to hold on to or expand their slim 51-49 advantage.
If Daniels wins, a GOP-controlled Legislature would make it easier to for him to get what he wants. But this is expected to be a big year for Democrats, who could get some help from Obama supporters.
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Associated Press writer Mike Smith contributed to this report.
