Candidates push hard in last 72 hours

WASHINGTON, Nov. 1 (UPI) -- Sen. Barack Obama is pressing hard in normally Republican-friendly states Saturday, with campaign stops scheduled in Missouri, Colorado and Nevada.

In the last weekend before Election Day, Republican presidential hopeful John McCain is visiting Virginia and Nevada, states that voted for George W. Bush but have been tracking for Obama in recent polling.

In addition, the Democratic presidential candidate's campaign said it bought ad time in three other red-leaning states -- Georgia, North Dakota and McCain's home state of Arizona, KNXV-TV, Phoenix, reported. A recent Arizona State University poll indicated McCain and Obama were in a statistical dead heat in Arizona.

GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin will stump in Florida and North Carolina, while Democratic counterpart Joe Biden has stops scheduled in Illinois and Ohio.