Politico's Jonathan Martin writes today about Republican candidate John McCain's strategy to compete in blue states on the strength of his maverick reputation and mildly progressive positions on issues like immigration, campaign finance reform and the environment. One such state, he contends, in Washington.

The upper Midwest is another region that, while trending Democratic, has the sort of free-thinking voter that McCain could appeal to. Wisconsin, in particular, is viewed with high hopes by Republicans.

On the West Coast, Washington and Oregon fall into this category, with the latter seen as more promising because it lacks a dominant liberal population center like metro Seattle and includes a sizable rural population.