HELENA, Montana (AP) :

Republican presidential candidate John McCain has history on his side in the state of Montana, but Democrat Barack Obama has 19 campaign offices.

Montana is typically safe territory for Republican presidential candidates. President George W Bush won the state by about 20 points in both 2000 and 2004, and only two Democratic presidential candidates have carried the state since 1948 in America's state-by-state process of choosing a president.

But Obama staked out Montana early as a potential battleground state and he is sticking with it to the end.

McCain, confident of winning the state and its three electoral votes, is virtually ignoring the western state, although the Republican National Committee will begin airing ads in Montana for the first time today.

Dissatisfaction

It takes 270 electoral votes to win the presidency. A state's number of electoral votes is roughly tied to its population

Obama's campaign did not back off when the state appeared to be a shoo-in for John McCain in September. And now McCain's lead appears to be in doubt.

A recent Montana State University-Billings poll showed the race within the margin of error, with Obama at 44 per cent and McCain at 40 per cent among likely voters, and 10 per cent undecided.

Obama's rise may be less about his appeal and more about dissatisfaction with McCain among voters in a state known for its mistrust of government and independence.