In Missouri, a Final Rush to Find Votes in Senate Race

KANSAS CITY, Mo., Nov. 3 - As the clock ticked down in the tightest Senate race, the candidates were seeking fresh ways to energize their bases while reaching out to this state's sliver of undecided voters.

The battle for control of the Senate is hinging on four crucial races: New Jersey, Missouri, Tennessee, and Virginia. Click on the map to learn more.

President Bush spoke Friday as Senator Jim Talent looked on at a campaign rally in Springfield, Mo.

In a race that has been a statistical dead heat since Labor Day, neither the Democratic challenger, Claire McCaskill, nor the incumbent, Senator Jim Talent, a Republican, has been ahead in any credible poll by more than three percentage points.

The lead has flip-flopped, and now, just days before the election, Ms. McCaskill, the state auditor, is enjoying a slight advantage.

With their bases seemingly locked in, only about 2 percent to 4 percent of the vote is up for grabs. And because Missouri is considered a national bellwether, neither party wants to lose it

On Friday, Mr. Talent welcomed President Bush for a campaign visit, after emphasizing his independence earlier in the campaign when Ms. McCaskill referred to him as being a close ally of the Bush administration.

But parts of Missouri have been very good to the Republicans, and Mr. Talent hopes to mobilize that element of the electorate.

Still, Mr. Talent campaigned with the president on Friday only in the most solidly Republican corner of the state, with stops in Springfield and Joplin.

In Springfield, Mr. Bush heaped praise on the first-term senator, citing specific work Mr. Talent had done - saying he had worked to use Missouri farm products to power cars, had introduced a plan for small businesses to afford health insurance for employees, and helped enact laws to curb methamphetamine laboratories.

"If you're concerned about what meth does to your fellow citizens, send Jim Talent back to the United States Senate," Mr. Bush said.

He also portrayed Mr. Talent's re-election as vital to the country's future, not just Missouri's, especially with regard to confirming federal judges and keeping taxes low.

"We had over 5,000 in Springfield and 6,000 here," Mr. Talent said, using generous crowd estimates as he introduced Mr. Bush at the second event, in Joplin. "I'm kind of thinking you may re-elect me to the Senate next Tuesday."

Meanwhile, Ms. McCaskill is on the equivalent of a whistle-stop tour in a giant RV, shaking hands at a feverish pace. She is focusing much attention on rural areas but is also making her presence felt in her strongholds - here in largely Democratic Kansas City and in St. Louis.

And she, too, plans to capitalize on the popularity of a party star, Senator Barak Obama of Illinois. Mr. Obama is to campaign with her on Sunday.

"We feel really great about this election," Ms. McCaskill said Thursday in interviews with reporters in Kansas City. "Now it's about who's mobilized to come out on Election Day."

As she swept into a Southern-style buffet at lunchtime on the eastern edge of town, she greeted the diners with big smiles and hugs. She picked up Kala-Hari Washington, 7 months old, and paraded her around while saying: "Hi, how are you? I'm Claire. Everyone vote on Tuesday. This is a big one."

Earlier on Thursday, Mr. Talent was at his Independence headquarters, not far from Kansas City, with Rudolph W. Giuliani, the popular former mayor of New York. They accused Ms. McCaskill of being soft on terrorism.

When Ms. McCaskill heard about those statements, she responded, "I think that is a desperate rallying cry at the end of this campaign."

In recent days, Ms. McCaskill has been swift and direct in her rebuttals to new advertisements that accuse her of being a tax cheat and of wanting to coddle illegal immigrants. One such advertisement said that if Ms. McCaskill was elected, "America won't be America anymore."

While Ms. McCaskill has been increasingly on the defensive, one issue has helped her, analysts say, and that is her support of stem cell research. A measure on the statewide ballot would guarantee that any stem cell research that is legal under federal law could be performed in Missouri.

Recent polls show that a majority of Missourians support stem cell research, and "there's some thought that this will help the Democrats," said Steven S. Smith, a professor of political science at Washington University in St. Louis.

Mr. Talent has come out against the ballot measure at the strong urging of conservative Christians. In the early days of the campaign, he chose not to take a stance.

"Talent's position has helped Claire's case," Dr. Smith said.

But there is still one wide-open question that Dr. Smith and others say no poll can predict: who will turn out to vote.

"This race is all about turnout," said Jennifer E. Duffy, who tracks Senate races for the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. "It is what it is, the closest race in the country."

Anne Kornblut contributed reporting from Springfield, Mo.