Oregon Public Broadcasting

John McCain accepted the presidential nomination of the Republican party in St Paul, Minnesota Thursday night.

Friday he speaks to voters outside of Detroit, with his vice presidential nominee Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. The stop shows how crucial the swing state of Michigan will be in the upcoming election.

On the other hand, McCain's campaign has spent relatively little time and money in Oregon. From St Paul, Ethan Lindsey reports on what the state's Republicans are thinking.

The floor of the Xcel Energy Center will be covered in ice in less than three weeks - it's the home arena of the Minnesota Wild professional hockey team.

This week, no hockey pucks...but the floor certainly heard a lot about hockey moms.

Sarah Palin: “You know what the difference is between a hockey mom and a pit bull? Lipstick.”

That was Alaska Governor and Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin.

The Republican National Convention wrapped up after speeches on consecutive nights from her and from Republican presidential candidate John McCain.

Modern political conventions like this have two major functions. One is the obvious, routine task of choosing the party's presidential nominee.

John McCain: “I have a privilege given few Americans -- the privilege of accepting our party's nomination for President of the United States. And I accept it with gratitude, humility and confidence.”

The other goal of a convention is to energize a party's core supporters, to fire up the so-called “base.”

The tens-of-thousands of Republicans cheering Sarah Palin doesn't just make for good television, it also serves to excite the 2400 delegates who will, ideally, go home with the drive to register voters, knock on doors, and campaign for John McCain.

That includes the 56 Oregonians in the audience.

Greg Wooldridge: “Oregonians have a frontier spirit. There are a lot of independent thinkers in Oregon, and John McCain is that way.”

Greg Wooldridge is a Portland Republican and head of the Oregon Veterans for McCain group. He says coming out of this high-energy convention, he believes McCain could beat Obama in Oregon.

Ethan Lindsey: "Do you think if it had been another candidate, Oregon would have been less likely to be in play?"

Greg Woolridge: “Yes. I think John McCain has those attributes and the ability to reach across the aisle and embrace ideas that Oregonians are excited about.”

But not all Republicans share that optimism.

Oregon has become increasingly blue in recent years.

After Oregon's 2000 election where Democrat Al Gore captured the state's seven electoral votes by a nose, Senator John Kerry beat President Bush in the state in 2004 by more than 4 percent.

This year, the state has witnessed a surge in Democratic Party registration.

And Barack Obama has collected more than four times as much money as Senator John McCain.

Bill Lunch is OPB's political analyst and chair of the political science department at Oregon State University.

He says Sarah Palin and her convention speech helped McCain with one group.

Bill Lunch: “The base of the Republican Party, the most conservative elements of the Republican Party who get out there and walk precincts and man card tables and talk to their friends and neighbors, which is very important, have been at best lukewarm about him. Palin generates enthusiasm among those folks, and among the women in the base."

But as they say, 'all politics is local.' And the enery may not translate to Oregon's new political map.

Bill Lunch: “The center of gravity, in terms of partisan terms, has shifted towards the Democrats. And, in terms of reaching for an electoral victory, both parties need help from independents and folks that aren't registered with either party. And its not at all clear that Palin will help with those folks in the middle of the Oregon electorate.”

Keith Kaiser is one of four Oregon delegates - and one of 15 nationally - who voted for Ron Paul. He just doesn't see how Obama loses in Oregon.

Keith Kaiser: “I'm not sure how much progress the Republicans are going to make this year. We have our work cut out for us the next two years. So my focus is on hoping the local candidates - state representatives. I can put signs out, I can make phone calls, I own a small business, I can talk to my customers.”

Some delegates say they are just hoping the Republicans hold their current seats in Salem.

Democrats captured a majority of seats in the Oregon House in 2006. But those 31 votes didn't give them the ability to raise taxes without winning over some Republicans.

Oregon law requires a supermajority of 36 House votes to do that.

That's what Republicans want to avoid at all costs. And why they say they're hoping McCain, Palin, and the Republican convention gives them a boost of energy heading into the fall election to stop that from happening.