WATERLOO, Iowa — Democratic presidential nominee Al Gore began a marathon, 30-hour final push for the White House shortly before dawn Monday by reaching out to factory workers in America's heartland.
Standing beneath an umbrella in a steady rain, Gore greeted dozens of United Auto Workers union members as they showed up for their shifts at the John Deere Company plant in Waterloo, Iowa.
"Good morning. How you doing? I'd like your vote tomorrow," the vice president said as one worker after another shook his hand and wished him well.
Gore heads from Iowa to Missouri, with stops later in the day in Michigan and Florida, before returning to his home state of Tennessee Tuesday to cast his own ballot and await the election returns.
With polls showing them running neck and neck, Gore and Republican George W. Bush are battling it out for these five states, which together hold 72 electoral votes. To win the White House, a candidate must secure 270 electoral votes.
In a round of morning television shows, Gore predicted the election would be "very, very close" but that he was confident of victory.
"I feel great about it. I think that most everybody has concluded that we have the momentum now and I think the other side knows that too," Gore told NBC's "Today" show outside the Deere plant.
Gore stresses turnout
Gore arrived in Waterloo from Wisconsin, another key battleground state, shortly past midnight Monday and was greeted by hundreds of screeching and flag-waving supporters.
"What your presence here tells me is that come Tuesday we are going to win Iowa and the presidency," Gore told the gathering, drawing more cheers and applause.
Gore said the election appeared likely to be the closest race since John Kennedy beat Richard Nixon in 1960 by an average of about one vote per precinct.
"I want you to get me one more vote per precinct, and then one more," he told supporters.
"Fifty years from now there are going to be stories told about this election," he said. "You are going to tell our grandchildren about this election."
Gore was joined in Waterloo at the airport rally and outside the John Deere plant by Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack and Sen. Tom Harkin, an Iowa Democrat.
"I think we are going to win," Harkin said. "But it is going to be close."
"I think Al Gore is going to pull it out," said Dennis O'Hara, a 43-year-old chiropractor and Gore supporter. "I think people are finally coming to their senses and realize George Bush doesn't make any sense."
Outside the John Deere plant, Tim Rooff, 46, a training coordinator, shook Gore's hand and said, "Good morning to our next president."
"With your help I will be," Gore replied.
Afterward, Rooff succinctly explained why he supports Gore, saying, "Things are going pretty darn well. Why change?"
Rallies troops
Gore then went to local Democratic headquarters where, with his wife Tipper, he spoke in a driving rain storm to about 150 people who volunteered get out the vote Tuesday.
"I will end with the saying that has never been more appropriate," Gore said. "Early to bed, early to rise, work like hell and organize."
Gore's final campaign stops in Florida encapsulate the see-saw race. Long expected to go to Bush, in part because his younger brother Jeb is its governor, Gore has made strides in the state and sees it as key to his White House chances.
"I am very optimistic (about the state) and that's why I am closing out the campaign in central Florida," Gore told Tampa local television station WFLA Sunday.
"The last formal campaign stop of campaign 2000, after my opponent's gone to bed, is going to be in central Florida because that's where the future is going to be written," he said.
Gore was to hold rallies in St. Louis, Missouri, Flint, Michigan, and Miami before flying on to Tampa to drink some early morning coffee with waitresses at an all-night restaurant.
According to the latest Reuters/MSNBC tracking poll released Sunday, Gore had pulled to within one percentage point of Bush, who led 47 percent to 46 percent with Green Party candidate Ralph Nader at 5 percent.