12:32am UK, Wednesday October 22, 2008

Michelle Clifford,
US correspondent

Barack Obama heads up country to Virginia today in the hope of getting its voters to back a Democrat in the presidential election for the first time in more than 40 years.

Obama at a rally in Virginia earlier in his campaign

He has been ahead in the polls for weeks thanks in part to changing demographics there and the economic concerns which have plagued his Republican rival for weeks.

As the financial crisis developed, Mr Obama opened a lead in Virginia and he is seeking to consolidate his advantage before stepping off the campaign trail for two days to visit his “gravely ill” grandmother.

He will temporarily pass the baton to his wife Michelle and his formidable surrogates like the Clintons.

Mr Obama has campaigned heavily in Virginia and other traditional Republican strongholds.

His bulging campaign purse and hefty man power has outflanked John McCain.

Democratic Strategist Bob Beckel, who managed Walter Mondale’s Presidential Campaign in 1984, says: “I had 2 offices in Virginia. He has eighty.

“It takes so much money to contact voters and tell people to go to the polls. But he can do what he wants, he has so much money.”

John McCain and Sarah Palin will share a platform in Ohio – another battleground where Mr Obama has edged ahead of his rival.

George W Bush won there in 2000 and 2004, but Democrats are more optimistic about their chances this time round.

Mr Obama has struggled to win over many of the states blue-collar white voters (who backed Clinton in the Primary) but recent polls suggest the current economic problems have brought some of them on side.

However, Ohio is destined to be one of the tightest races come November 4th.