"With 314 mountain ranges, 24 state parks and one of the bluest lakes in the world, Nevada is nature’s breathtaking playground," touts TravelNevada.com on its tourism Web site.

In this presidential election season, you might add "and one of the hottest battleground states on the road to the White House."

Nevada’s five Electoral College votes do not rival those of California (55), Florida (27) or Ohio (20). But, as Republican Sen. John McCain and Democratic Sen. Barack Obama plot a strategy to win the White House, Nevada grows in importance.

Republican George W. Bush swept the last two presidential elections in Nevada. Democrat Bill Clinton claimed the state twice in the 1990s. This year, Nevada’s population growth, concerns about immigration and a proposed nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain leave the political landscape in question.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton slipped past Obama during the Democratic primary in Nevada. The Obama campaign has talked about focusing on women, young voters and Hispanics to try to move the state back into the politically blue column for November. "Every national poll you see is based on the 2004 electorate," David Plouffe, Obama’s campaign manager, said in the reviewjournal.com. "I guarantee you the electorate in 2008 will be changed in some fundamental ways."

McCain’s somewhat moderate position on immigration may help him lure the Hispanic vote.

Recent polls have bounded between both candidates. Four polls of likely voters in late August showed a split decision between Obama and McCain.

Perhaps as a sign of how important Nevada voters are to Democrats in November, the state’s delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Denver were seated to the right of the stage, just behind Florida.