By Bill Raack, KWMU
St. Louis –
Republican presidential candidate John McCain is scheduled to appear at a campaign rally in St. Charles this morning.
He'll be at New Town, a planned community in St. Charles. The rally begins at 9 a.m. Senator McCain will take the stage at 10.
His visit comes on the heels of a major Obama downtown on Saturday.
St. Louis University political scientist Ken Warren said the state's voters are getting so much attention because the race is still very close here.
"Clearly, Missouri is in play and it's a state that Obama doesn't have to win, by the way, he'd love to win it but it's a state that McCain absolutely has to win considering he's trending very poorly in many other battleground states, Warren said.
Some recent polls put Obama ahead; others show McCain in the lead. The website Real Clear Politics lists Missouri as one of eight tossup states.
Former President Bill Clinton will be at Kirkwood high school tonight to campaign for Obama.
The vice-presidential candidates are not ignoring Missouri, either. Jill Biden, Democrat Joe Biden's wife, campaigned across the state on Friday and Saturday, and there are reports that Republican vice presidential hopeful Sarah Palin may appear in Missouri this week.