McCain sees an opening in rural Maine (AP)

The campaign believes the Alaska governor and moose-hunting hockey mom will connect with voters in a region where hunting, fishing and snowmobiling are popular.

McCain can win one electoral vote if he takes Maine's 2nd Congressional District, the biggest district in geographic terms east of the Mississippi, a patchwork of forests and lakes that are blanketed by snow for much of the year.

Focusing on a single district could make sense in Maine, one of only two states — the other is Nebraska — that allow electoral votes to be split. It means that even a statewide loser could grab one of Maine's four electoral votes.

"Certainly the 2nd District is within his sights. He can win this district," said Mark Brewer, political science professor at the University of Maine.

McCain television ads are in heavy rotation in Bangor and Presque Isle, although the Republican National Committee has decided to stop running presidential ads in Maine to focus on usually Republican states where McCain shows signs of faltering.

Palin was to make her first visit to the state with a rally Thursday at the Bangor International Airport. Palin's husband, Todd, a snowmobile racer in Alaska, visited the state over the weekend.

Jim Spriggins, owner of the Moosehead Trail Trading Post, expected no more than 300 people to show up to see Todd Palin. To his surprise, more than 1,200 people turned out.

"We actually had cars parked two to three miles up the road," said Spriggins, who had never before gotten involved in politics. Since the weekend rally, he said, "people I've never seen have been stopping in and asking for signs and bumper stickers."

Bob Meyers, executive director of the 30,000-member Maine Snowmobile Association, said it's no surprise that the Palins will find kindred spirits in the state's rural north.

"I can understand how the lifestyle of the Palins in particular would resonate with the folks up there," Meyers said.

In a close race, Republicans can't afford to write off a single electoral vote, but Republicans hope that a strong showing in the 2nd District will help them sweep the entire state, where unenrolled or independent voters comprise the largest bloc.

Voters in Lewiston, the largest city in the 2nd District, are traditionally Democratic but tend to be more conservative than those in Portland, the biggest city overall and a liberal stronghold where Republicans resemble an endangered species.

Jeff Grappone, spokesman for the McCain-Palin campaign in New England, cites evidence showing all of Maine "is competitive and up for grabs."

Maine last voted for a Republican for president in 1988, when Kennebunkport summer resident George H.W. Bush won the state. Political scientists say that's unlikely to change, even if McCain and Palin manage to carry the 2nd District.

Sandy Maisel, director of the Goldfarb Center for Public Affairs at Colby College in Waterville, acknowledged that the 2nd District is more conservative and has more evangelical Christians than the 1st District.

Maisel said he still believes that Democrat Barack Obama will take all four Maine votes but doesn't rule out the chance of McCain riding the coattails of Republican incumbent Susan Collins, a native of northern Maine, in a hotly contested Senate race.

Brewer agreed. "I don't think it's impossible, but, boy, I think it's unlikely (McCain-Palin) will take the entire state," he said.

Obama has no plans to cede the state. Democrats have more than 30 offices set up across Maine to promote Obama and other candidates, said Jessica Santillo, Maine communications director of Obama for America.

In Nebraska, meanwhile, Obama is trying to take one of its five electoral votes by focusing on Omaha, the state's biggest, most diverse city.

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On the Net:

McCain campaign: http://www.johnmccain.com/

Obama campaign: http://www.barackobama.com/index.php

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