McCain will visit N.C. on Monday

Republican presidential candidate John McCain will make his first post-primary trip to North Carolina on Monday when he holds a town hall meeting in Wilmington.

McCain will speak at Cape Fear Community College's Schwartz Center. Doors open at noon.

It will be McCain's first public appearance in the state since May and follows by a week a visit to Greenville by his running mate, Sarah Palin.

McCain's wife, Cindy, will be the grand marshall of the Bank of America 600 Sunday in Concord.

"John McCain is excited about bringing his Country First message to the Tar Heel state on Monday," said spokesman Mario Diaz. "Hard-working families in North Carolina are supporting John McCain and pushing him to victory in November because he has a plan to get our economy back on track by keeping our taxes low and controlling government spending."

McCain's opponent, Democrat Barack Obama, has made three visits to North Carolina in the past two weeks. Polls show a tight race in the state.

Tickets for Monday's event are available at McCain's Wilmington office.

North Carolina has not voted for a Democratic presidential candidate since Jimmy Carter in 1976, but the unstable economy and demographic changes have most political experts and polls calling the state a toss-up.

Obama has an advantage from the sizable ground operation his campaign built for the Democratic primary in May. The Illinois senator easily defeated Sen. Hillary Clinton in the primary.

That operation is still on the ground for Obama, with offices scattered throughout the state.

McCain lacks that advantage because he was not required to run much of a campaign here. He had wrapped up the Republican nomination long before the North Carolina primary.