States to watch

Times show when last polls close, Pacific Standard Time.

VIRGINIA (4 p.m.)

It would be hard for John McCain to win the presidency without it. If Barack Obama wins here -- and he can, if he carries swing counties like Prince William -- it would be an early (and probably fatal) blow to the Republicans.

INDIANA (4 p.m.)

It has not voted for a Democrat for president since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964, but statewide, Democrats have been gaining ground. The southern part of the state is vital to Obama-- no Democrat has won statewide without doing well there.

NORTH CAROLINA (4:30 p.m.)

If Obama is going to turn it blue, he’ll need to win

Wake County, which Bush narrowly carried in 2004.

OHIO (4:30 p.m.)

No Republican since 1860 has been elected without it, and it’s a must-win for McCain. Victory will probably come down to the white working-class vote, which Obama struggled to win during the Democratic primary.

PENNSYLVANIA (5 p.m.)

McCain and especially Sarah Palin have been campaigning hard here. They’ve focused on places like Beaver County -- a predominantly white, working-class county in the western part of the state. To win, they’ll have to run up big numbers there.

FLORIDA (5 p.m.)

The state that broke Democratic hearts in 2000 is a tossup again. The fight is in the central part of the state. Obama is also looking to make inroads among Latinos, especially younger Cuban Americans in Miami.

MISSOURI (5 p.m.)

The quintessential presidential bellwether state. With the exception of 1956, it has supported the winner of every presidential election since 1904.

COLORADO (6 p.m.)

George W. Bush won the state in 2004, but Democrats have been on a roll here since, taking the governor’s office, the Legislature and two congressional seats. Obama should capture Colorado if he wins the Denver suburbs.

NEVADA (7 p.m.)

Obama has given McCain a run for his money here. The Democrat will run up big numbers in Las Vegas and Clark County but needs to avoid getting swamped in rural Nevada. Washoe County, which encompasses Reno, holds the key.

-- Kate Linthicum