ALBUQUERQUE — Republican presidential candidate John McCain, in his fourth visit to New Mexico since Memorial Day, told supporters Saturday that it's a battleground state "and we must win New Mexico."

McCain and his vice presidential choice, Sarah Palin, rode their post-convention wave into Albuquerque for a rally after stopping in Colorado Springs, Colo., earlier in the day. The two spoke for about half an hour to an enthusiastic crowd whose cheers and applause sometimes drowned out McCain's remarks.

Supporters, some of whom waited for hours, greeted the Republican ticket with cheers, shouts and American flags. McCain and his wife, Cindy, were met on stage by actor Robert Duvall and his wife, then Palin and her husband, Todd, followed them to the stage.

The crowd broke into a chant of "U.S.A., U.S.A.," and erupted in cheers when Duvall introduced Palin.

Republicans gave out 6,000 tickets to the rally. Bleachers were erected against the northern edge of the convention center, but most of the crowd had to stand on the concrete floor.

McCain told the audience he understands Western states' issues such as water and the environment, and reiterated his pledges: tax cuts, support for the troops, backing for various types of energy from alternative to nuclear and support for domestic oil drilling.

"Yes, my friends, we'll drill now," McCain said, bringing a response from the crowd: "Drill, baby, drill."

He said he doesn't work for the party or special interests. "I work for you," he said.

McCain was introduced by Palin, who touted her term as Alaska governor. Palin said she was ready to help McCain "bring tax relief to all Americans" and "end earmarks once and for all."

Dawn and Dan Lowe said they were impressed by the speeches. "Words cannot describe it," said Dawn Lowe just after she and her husband posed for a photograph holding McCain-Palin posters.

"Incredible. That Sarah Palin motivated us. And John McCain, he spoke from the heart," said her husband, 44.

The Lowes, who stood in the front row near the stage, came to the rally wearing black tank tops emblazoned by white letters that said, "Liberalism breeds terrorism."

"We feel the liberal movement in America professes the right to be wrong and wrong to be right," Lowe said.

Others said the speeches reinforced their backing of the Republican presidential ticket. "He said everything I wanted to hear," said Wayne Crowe, 57, of Albuquerque.

It was the first political rally David and Carolyn Kelsey had ever attended. Carolyn Kelsey, 61, called it wonderful and exciting, while David Kelsey, 71, said, "We're more and more impressed."

McCain supporters also said they were ecstatic with the Arizona senator's choice of the first-term Alaska governor as a running mate.

"She's created such an excitement in the party. She single-handedly caused a revival in the Republican Party," Dawn Lowe, 37, said before the rally started.

"We're strong Christian conservatives, and we think he wavered a bit and he had us worried. When he made the choice of Sarah Palin, he increased our confidence one thousand fold," Dan Lowe said as he and his wife, who are in the car repossession business in Albuquerque, awaited the speakers.

Byron Clayton, 59, who carried his nearly 1-year-old grandson, Ayden Clayton, said Palin "energized the Republican ticket to the extent it has the other side worried. They're going to have to scramble. I think the ticket was sagging. It was getting a little stale" before Palin's selection.

Said his 47-year-old wife, Kym Clayton: "She's a young conservative and a living example of a conservative woman" who was not afraid to take on her own party.

Before the rally, about 75 protesters — some carrying signs that said, "Bush-McCain, more of the same" and "No McSame" — lined up across the street from the long queue of people waiting to get into the event.

As protesters shouted, "No more war," some of those lined up for the GOP rally shouted back, "U.S.A., U.S.A."

About a half dozen Albuquerque police officers stood on both sides of the street, making sure McCain supporters and demonstrators remained on the sidewalks.

New Mexico is considered a swing state in presidential and statewide elections because many of its Democrats are moderates and conservatives who have backed Republicans, particularly in rural areas and small communities.

Democrats have made gains on New Mexico's voter rolls while Republican registration has declined since 2006. The state now has about 544,000 registered Democrats, a 1 percent increase, and 354,000 Republicans, down 1.3 percent.




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