We're all familiar with how the electoral map has been divided into red states and blue states in the past two presidential elections.
Well, get ready for some blending of colors.
In their fight for the presidency, Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain and Illinois Demo-cratic Sen. Barack Obama are both seeing purple.
Both campaigns have signaled in the past week that they view usually solid Republican and Democratic states as in play, and they may take unconventional routes to get the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency.
Strategists and pollsters say different states are always in play, given the candidates and the political landscape.
However, after two elections with a fairly predictable map of Republican red states and Dem-ocratic blue states, the unique characteristics and liabilities of this year's presumptive nominees are driving electoral shifts.
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In an online strategy briefing last week, McCain campaign manager Rick Davis told supporters, "This is a very challenging environment for any Republican candidate, but the good news for us is that John McCain may be one of the most resilient candidates in modern history.
"There are some states were we have really unique opportunities," Davis said, pointing to historically Democratic states like California, Michigan, Wisconsin and Connecticut.
The McCain campaign is considering the possibility of Hillary Rodham Clinton supporters' voting for McCain and dragging down Obama support in key states he'd need to win.
"If McCain attracts Democratic primary voters at the rate exit polls indicate, the impact on the general election could be huge," Davis said.
Likewise, the Obama campaign says Obama can win usually Republican states: Virginia, North Carolina, Colorado or Nevada. In those states, McCain and Obama are in close contests.
In a pitch of his own last week, Obama campaign manager David Plouffe reportedly told a crowd in Washington that the conventional wisdom a Demo-crat needs to win Ohio or Florida to claim the presidency is not true.
"You have a lot of ways to get to 270," Plouffe told the audience, according to The Associated Press. "Our goal is not to be reliant on one state on November 4."
In national polling, Obama currently leads, and has experienced a boost since clinching the Democratic nomination early this month. But a look state-by-state demonstrates how close the race really is. And the most recent Washington Post poll shows independents split between McCain and Obama, a trend Northern Arizona University pollster Fred Solop says holds true in Arizona.
He says that with new issues at play this year, such as the economy and gas prices, and no incumbent or vice president running for the Oval Office, the dynamics have changed.
"In 2000 and 2004, there was a lot of consistency," Solop said of voting trends. "But now you have an open seat, and you have a new game in town. You have a decreasing allegiance in the electorate to political parties."
Obama and McCain both hold vulnerable leads in states they need. And a handful of swing states are either in a constant state of motion or find the candidates in statistical dead heats.
Two regions are particularly up-in-the-air: the Rocky Mountain states bordering Arizona and the upper Midwest, where the economy is the driving issue for voters.
Nevada and Colorado, two states that voted for President Bush in 2000 and 2004, have been trending Democratic. So has a Southern state, North Carolina, where McCain leads by just 2 percentage points.
Combined, these three states have more electoral votes than Ohio or Florida.
Meanwhile, McCain is polling within a few points of Obama in states that Al Gore and John Kerry won — Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.
Local Republican pollster Margaret Kenski says seemingly small issues, like whether a candidate supports ethanol subsidies, can set certain states in motion.
But ultimately, the election could come down to a handful of "purple" places. And that's where you'll see candidate visits and high-priced advertising.
"I don't know if it's going to be day and night," said Dante Scala, an associate professor of political science at the University of New Hampshire. "But could there be a few more states in play? Sure."
Scala said McCain has a "fighting chance" in his state, a combined effect of his appeal to independents and Obama's inability to win the state's Demo-cratic primary in January.
"He might be the only one of the respective candidates for the nomination that had a chance at New Hampshire," Scala said of McCain. "I think Obama's going to have to work hard here to carry it. It's not a walk."
Ed Costantini, a professor emeritus of political science at the University of California-Davis, said that while the candidates like to say they are running campaigns in all 50 states, they're really targeting the states they think they need.
"Certainly what they say in terms of 'every state is in play' is somewhat disingenuous," said Costantini, an expert in national elections. "You wouldn't want to say, 'I'm going to ignore the South because that's lost territory.' "
And Costantini said the last candidate who tried a 50-state strategy, Richard Nixon in 1960, found it taxing and burdensome — and unsuccessful.
"It was kind of laughable," he said. "He promised and he delivered on his promise, and it just took him away from so-called battleground states."
Nevada
• Electoral votes: 5
• Precedent: Voted for George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004; for Bill Clinton in 1996.
• Landscape: John McCain is hoping for a regional advantage, but the state isn't a slam-dunk. Barack Obama lost the Nevada Democratic caucus but is polling competitively.
• Right now: McCain enjoys a 2- to 6-point lead in most polls.
