Pushing deep into Republican territory, Obama took aim at two states that have spurned Democratic presidential candidates for more than three decades. The moves signalled his intent to compete on a wider playing field than the party's recent nominees.

Obama also has targeted Western states like Colorado and Nevada, chipping away at a political map that has limited Democratic opportunities in the last two races to gain the 270 electoral votes needed to capture the White House.

"It was a bold statement to start down here. But Democrats have thought they had a chance to put Virginia or North Carolina in play before," said Andrew Taylor, a political scientist at North Carolina State University.

In 2004, Democratic nominee John Kerry had early hopes in the region and even picked a North Carolina senator, John Edwards, as his running mate -- and still lost the state to President George W. Bush by 12 percentage points.

"The question is whether things will be different for Obama. There is at least some reason to think they could be," Taylor said.

Obama, an Illinois senator who would be the first black U.S. president, clinched the Democratic presidential nomination last week and will face Republican John McCain in November's election.

Obama hopes a surge in Democratic voter registration and record turnout among young and black voters can help break down some of the partisan boundaries that have hemmed in the party's recent nominees.

McCain also aims to change the map, hoping his appeal to independents and Obama's difficulties with white working-class voters give him a shot in blue-collar battlegrounds recently won by Democrats like Michigan and Pennsylvania.

Swing states like Ohio and Florida will still play starring roles, but some states that have not seen the presidential spotlight in years could become more important.

"Obama's people correctly see historically Republican states where they think they can be competitive," said Dan Schnur, a Republican consultant and an aide to McCain during his 2000 presidential bid.

"But it's pretty clear Obama also loses ground to McCain in some states that have been safe for Democrats in the past."

HIGH BLACK TURNOUT

A record black turnout could help Obama in a few Southern states like Virginia, which has shifted toward Democrats in recent elections with the growth of the affluent and diverse northern suburbs outside Washington.

North Carolina also has seen population growth, particularly in the Research Triangle area around Raleigh, among the affluent and college-educated voters who have been one of Obama's biggest constituencies.

Obama's long primary battle with Democratic rival Hillary Clinton means he already has spent time campaigning and organizing in both states, where he crushed Clinton.

He made Virginia, which last backed a Democrat for the White House when Lyndon Johnson won in 1964, his first stop last week after clinching the nomination. He opened a two-week national tour to discuss the economy on Monday in North Carolina, which has not supported a Democrat for president since southerner Jimmy Carter in 1976.

Obama's hopes for gains in the West rely in part on Democratic strength among the growing population of Hispanics -- even though Obama has struggled to win over Hispanics.

His prime targets in the West -- New Mexico, Colorado and Nevada -- were all narrowly won by Bush in 2004. But those three states combined have only 19 electoral votes -- less than Ohio, Florida or Pennsylvania individually.

McCain, a former Vietnam prisoner of war, hopes to win one or two of those big battleground states and capitalize on Obama's struggles with Hispanics and Jewish voters in Florida, where he already has made several stops.

Kerry won Michigan and Pennsylvania in 2004, while Bush captured Florida and Ohio. Both campaigns also will target 11 states decided by 6 percentage points or less in the close 2004 race narrowly won by Bush.

Kerry won six of those battles -- Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Bush took five -- Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nevada and New Mexico.

"Both sides are doing a lot of prodding and pushing to try to see what's possible out there," Taylor said. "It won't be a radically transformed electoral map, but it could be something different than what we have seen in the last two elections."