McCain focuses on New Hampshire

John McCain's campaign continues to pay attention to New Hampshire, which saved his presidential bid by giving him a crucial primary win in January.

This afternoon in Manchester, Tom Ridge -- former Pennsylvania governor, former US homeland security secretary, and Vietnam War vet -- helped announce the formation of New Hampshire Veterans for McCain.

"Veterans back John McCain because he always backs us. From working tirelessly to improve veterans' health care to streamlining VA services, Senator McCain clearly understands that our nation is forever indebted to those who served in our nation's armed forces," Paul Chevalier, a Marine veteran and the group's co-chairman with Air Force veteran Griff Dalianis of Nashua, said in a statement. "McCain's strong support extends to those who are currently serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. While his opponent has played politics with troop funding, John McCain continues to fight for our servicemen and women, while also working to ease their transition back to civilian life."

McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, is counting heavily on the support of the military community and voters focused on national security. He'll also be relying on Ridge heavily in Pennsylvania, a key battleground state that, if current projections hold, could be among the handful of big states that decide the next president.

New Hampshire has far fewer electoral votes -- 4 to Pennsylvania's 21 -- but it is also considered a possible swing state. Democrat John F. Kerry won the Granite State by 1 percentage point in 2004, and Republican George W. Bush won the state by 1 percentage point in 2000.

On Saturday, McCain's New Hampshire campaign plans what it calls "Super Saturday" -- an eight-hour effort of phone banks and door knocks run out of its offices in Manchester, Nashua, and Stratham.

McCain, himself, is scheduled to hold a town meeting in Rochester on Tuesday.