CHARLOTTE - Candidates up and down the ballot started revving up their voter-turnout efforts Sunday, setting the stage for a bigger-than-ever N.C. primary finish.

All three major presidential candidates will be in the state today, including Sen. John McCain, the GOP's all-but-official nominee. He'll be in Charlotte.

But most of the spotlight will be on Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton as they make their last-minute pitches for Democratic primary voters. For Obama, North Carolina is a chance to get a win that could rebuild momentum after a streak of bad news; for Clinton, it's a place to stage an upset that could bolster her argument that she is more electable in the general election.

With long lines for early voting and a spike in absentee ballots, the turnout Tuesday is expected to break records because of the tough-fought Democratic presidential primary. Longtime N.C. political observers say voters are so excited by the N.C. presidential primary that as many as 1.5 million of them may vote in the Democratic primary -- way beyond the record of 961,000 in 1984.

Add the Republicans who will vote in their own primary, with its competitive race for the gubernatorial nomination, and the total votes cast could pass 2 million.

"I'd tell Clinton and Obama to hold on tight," said Ferrel Guillory, founder and director of the Program on Public Life at UNC Chapel Hill. "They're going to have the biggest turnout ever in the state. I don't know if there's anything else they can do (to boost excitement). They've already done it, just by having this campaign."

Meanwhile, Republicans and Democrats running for everything from governor to county commissioner are busy reminding voters that Tuesday is also a major election for state and local offices.

In downtown Durham on Sunday, the Democratic candidates for governor both went to an interfaith event at First Presbyterian Church looking for votes as much as fellowship.

"Look at our records, not what we're saying now," said state Treasurer Richard Moore, highlighting efforts such as raising the minimum wage. "What have we done when we had the chance?"

Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue talked about not only her resume, but also the challenges in her personal life -- such as years as a single mother.

"But my struggles are nothing," she said, "compared to the struggles of families across North Carolina."

On the Republican side, the candidates seemed quieter Sunday -- but only on the surface.

Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory, who's vying with state Sen. Fred Smith and three others for the GOP gubernatorial nomination, said Obama and Clinton have pushed state and local races off the front page and the top of the TV news.

"The media seems to have more interest in the star power (of national political celebrities) than in the (state) governance that affects people's daily lives," he said.

That's causing state and local candidates to work even harder at the grass-roots level to track down and get out their voters.

In the case of McCrory, whose appeal extends beyond the Republican Party, that includes independent voters -- a coveted group that may opt to vote in the Democratic primary because of Obama and Clinton.

"We're doing anything and everything we can to reach them: phone banks, letters, going door to door," said McCrory, who did some hand-shaking Sunday at the Wachovia Championship. "We do know where they live."

Republican Jaye Rao, who is in a three-way primary against Neil Cooksey and Ada Nicolay for a District 5 Mecklenburg County commissioners seat, said she also knew when planning her campaign that the Democratic presidential race could be a major draw for independents.

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