STEVENS POINT - If Wisconsin Republicans are worried about John McCain carrying the state in November, they aren't showing it.

Party faithful gathered for the annual state convention on Saturday said the table is set for a McCain victory in the fall over presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Illinois Sen. Barack Obama.

They say the key to victory will be focusing on issues that attract independent voters and conservative Democrats and then making sure those people turn out to vote.

"His message will be the most important thing for him," said Mary Buestrin, a Republican National Committee member from Wisconsin, describing what it will take for McCain to win the state.

"His message is Wisconsin's message. What he stands for is strong defense, less government, lower taxes," she said. "The Republican way."

For McCain to win, he needs to turn out the blue collar Democrats who supported Ronald Reagan, said Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker. Winning that crossover vote will be the difference maker, Walker said.

"We're going to deliver Wisconsin for John McCain," pledged state party chairman Reince Priebus in a Saturday speech at the convention. "He's the worse nightmare of the Democrats."

Democrats are trying to brand McCain as just an extension of President Bush, who is wallowing under low approval ratings both nationally and in the state. A liberal interest group, One Wisconsin Now, even staged a play outside the Republican convention dubbed a "Stamporee" in which an actor playing McCain is shown rubber stamping President Bush's agenda.

McCain has a reputation and history as being a maverick within the Republican Party. That could be attractive to Wisconsin voters who tend to like that in their politicians.

But Scot Ross, executive director of One Wisconsin Now, said the issues just aren't on McCain's side. He labeled McCain as nothing more than a rubber stamp of Bush's policies on the war in Iraq, the economy and health care.

"Wisconsin tends to look at candidates in terms of the issues, not people," Ross said.

McCain can put together a coalition to win Wisconsin, said Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty who spoke at the convention Friday. McCain has a proven track record of appealing to Democrats and Independents and has a bit of populism that is popular in states like Wisconsin and Minnesota, Pawlenty said.

"People are looking to Senator McCain to re-energize our chances," said Pawlenty, who is frequently mentioned as a possible running mate for McCain. "He is a person who I think can appeal in states and places where at least recently we haven't had that much appeal."

An April statewide poll showed that a McCain-Obama matchup in Wisconsin is too close to call. Other polls have also been tight and certainly will fluctuate, especially now that Obama appears to be close to securing the Democratic nomination.

Close presidential elections are nothing new in Wisconsin, where the last two Democrats prevailed by less than half percentage point each time. In 2004, Democrat John Kerry beat President Bush by 11,813 votes. Four years earlier, Democrat Al Gore beat Bush by fewer than 6,000 votes.

That history, as well as the dynamics of this race, have party officials and those with the campaigns considering Wisconsin, and its 10 electoral votes, to once again be a heavily contested state that could go either way.

"This is the state that's going to be a circuit breaker for the presidency of the United States," said U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis. McCain must carry Wisconsin to win the election, Ryan said at the GOP convention.

"It is a battleground state," National Republican Party Chairman Mike Duncan said at the convention. "It is an important state. It is a state John McCain needs."

McCain will be a frequent visitor to the state and will focus on core GOP values that will be attractive to the so-called Reagan Democrats, Duncan said.

"He is appealing to the center-right part of this country and that's where this election is going to be won," Duncan said.