Candidates keep up the fight as election nears end

— -- Presidential contenders Barack Obama and John McCain ignored polls showing the Democrat leading and urged voters on Sunday not to let either pessimism or complacency keep them from the polls on Nov. 4.

The latest Gallup polls show Obama ahead 51 to 43 among likely voters. State surveys also suggest that Obama's path to the 270 electoral votes needed to win is closer than McCain's.

But the campaigns were having none of it.

"I've been in a lot of campaigns. I know the momentum is there," McCain, the Republican candidate, told supporters at a rally in Pennsylvania.

In Colombus, Ohio, Obama, the Democrat, urged voters at his rally to go directly afterward to the polling places, which stayed open until 5 p.m. for early voting.

"Columbus, don't believe for a second that this election is over," the Illinois senator said.

Less than 72 hours before Election Day, top officials for both campaigns were also shrugging off the polls, with McCain's campaign manager claiming a late surge toward the Republican and Obama's chief strategist concerned about overconfidence..

Republican Rick Davis, told ABC's This Week that he believes there is a "structural imbalance" in the polling that does not reflect what he sees as a big swing by independents toward McCain.

He also said he sees close contests emerging in the key battleground states. Davis said McCain was in a position to win Pennsylvania, a traditionally Democratic state that is critical to a Republican victory in the electoral votes.

"It's a state that I believe we can snatch from the Democrats and add to our coalition," Davis said.

David Axelrod, Obama's chief strategist, said that in early voting "the edge is pretty substantial in our favor." He said he is particularly pleased with the pattern of Democratic turnout among new voters in North Carolina, where polls show a very close race.

"The main thing I worry about is complacency," Axelrod said, referring to the potential impact of upbeat polls.

"You've still got to vote," he said.