On the Ground in Colorado, Campaigns Move at Different Paces

"We're really just getting moving," Dill said.

Like Obama, who lost to Clinton in Pueblo County 57 percent to 42 percent, McCain has much work to do. He won just 13 percent of Pueblo's Republican caucus votes in February, finishing 49 points behind former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and also trailing former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee.

Dill is counting on issues such as the makeup of the Supreme Court to motivate "a lot of our Republicans who aren't too excited about McCain." He said many Pueblo Democrats tend to be conservative, suggesting that "the right candidate can do well."

But Salazar, the lapsed Democratic voter, says he is scurrying on his own to make up ground while waiting for the cavalry. He hosted a McCain Nation event in nearby Avondale that drew 38 people and gave him hope: Many who attended were Democrats who once supported Clinton, he said.

"Farmers, schoolteachers, veterans, a couple of small-business owners," Salazar said. "You would not believe the number of former Hillary supporters and Democrats."

Salazar, who relishes his increasingly public role as a Democratic veteran now backing McCain, said the Republican's campaign will use traditional appeals, such as a booth at the state fair and a float in its parade -- along with lots of door-knocking.

"I'll be targeting precincts that are heavily Hispanic or Democratic or veterans," Salazar said. "We have to make our presence known. And make it clear to Democrats that you shouldn't vote for a Democrat just because your parents did, and that us hardworking Hispanics should be Republicans."