US Election: Candidates Vie for Votes in Crucial State of Florida

Barack Obama and John McCain are to focus over the next 48 hours on Florida, the state that proved pivotal in the last two elections, as both teams stuck to their campaign timetables in spite of the havoc on Wall Street.

Obama highlighted the importance of the state when he appealed to supporters for $39m (£21.4m) - about half of the total $84m that is available to McCain for the entire campaign - to spend on advertising and other events in Florida alone.

The Democratic candidate, who is to speak at rallies in Coral Gables today and Jacksonville tomorrow, is running neck and neck with McCain in the state. President George Bush won Florida, the fourth most important state in terms of electoral votes, by 380,000 votes in 2004.

David Plouffe, Obama's campaign manager, in an email to supporters asking for cash, said 500,000 black voters and 900,000 young people, both overwhelmingly behind Obama, have been registered who did not vote in 2004.

The key could be the Hispanic vote, with signs that a sizable proportion could swing behind Obama.

The other big demographic group in the state is the Jewish community, which normally votes Democrat. Ira Forman, executive director of the National Jewish Democratic Council, complained yesterday that the Republican Jewish Coalition was targeting Jewish voters with "lie-filled polling" and ads "that are filled with innuendoes and half-truths".

The Democrats have repeatedly complained that groups, often found to have links to the Republican party, have been involved in what is known as "push-polling" - pretending to conduct polls but inserting misleading information about Obama into the questions.

The Republican party is to air an advertisement today aimed at Florida's Hispanic population. The Spanish ad highlights how McCain, who is more liberal on immigration than his party, fought for immigration reform in the Senate last year.

As polls showed Obama benefiting more from the Wall Street meltdown than McCain, the Republican candidate went on the offensive, claiming that an Obama presidency would mean increased federal spending and increased taxes.