John McCain barely found time to vote tonight as he made frenzied last-ditch campaign stops in the once 'safe' states of New Mexico and Colorado before returning to his home state of Arizona for a relatively modest event that his staff cautiously named the 'The Road to Victory Party'.

By mid-morning, preparations for the event were already well underway at the Biltmore Hotel in McCain's home city of Phoenix - the same luxury Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired resort that hosted John and Cindy McCain's wedding reception 28 years ago. The hotel boasts that it has hosted every American president since Herbert Hoover. As of last night, some 60 satellite trucks were parked outside.

It was speculated that McCain - who is booked into the hotel's 1,157-square-foot presidential suite - would give either his victory or concession speech not at the event itself but in front of cameras on the hotel lawn.

Earlier today, the Republican party candidate drank his usual Starbucks coffee on the balcony of his 11th floor apartment. He also sat down for an early morning interview on ABC's Good Morning America.

"I'm kind of sorry that it's over because it's been exciting. I mean, it's been one of the most incredible experiences that anybody can have," said the Senator.

Afterwards, McCain voted with his wife at the Albright United Methodist Church in Phoenix, sitting down at a table to complete the ballot before licking the envelope and handing it to poll workers. Outside, he declined to address the scrum of reporters, while his supporters shouted out, "Thank you, Senator!" and "We love you!" He stopped to shake hands with some of them. While doing so, the branch of a tree hit McCain in the head. Cindy McCain quickly concealed the damage by smoothing down her husband's thinning hair.

The Republican candidate - still trailing in the polls behind the Democratic candidate Barack Obama - had yesterday completed a seven-state campaign blitz, trying to hold previously safe Republican states. His campaign manager, Rick Davis, said that McCain's campaigning was showing a "steady but progressive" increase in his poll numbers, changing double-digit leads for Obama into leads that fall within the margin of error.

Meanwhile, McCain's vice presidential running mate, the Alaska governor Sarah Palin, voted in her home town of Wasilla before making the long flight to Arizona for the party. "So glad to get to be home in Wasilla to cast this vote because forever I'm going to be Sarah from Alaska," she said. "It's an honor to get to be here with my friends and family."

Guests at McCain's election night party were expected to include his 96-year-old mother, Roberta, as well as his friend Joe Lieberman, the Democratic Senator. Other VIPs were expected to confirm only if it looked as though the election was close, rather than an Obama landslide.

Judging by random interviews conducted outside the closest polling station to McCain's election party - at Madison Middle School - the signs were not encouraging.

"We don't like John McCain any more," said Diana Tomb, 63, a publicist. "I think we've just had enough of the Republican administration, the war, the economy, the Wall Street bail-out. I also think McCain's changed because he wanted to get the support of the right-wing. But Sarah Palin's been a drag on his ticket. She's been portrayed as being just not very bright."

Even some Republicans weren't supportive of their local candidate. "Well, I've been back and forth all week, but when I finally sat down and read through all the literature last night, I decided on Obama," said one registered Republican, a retired architect in his 70s who didn't want to give his name or precise age. "I'm afraid of McCain's vice presidential candidate. I'm concerned about world affairs. I just don't think McCain is fresh enough."

The architect's wife - a retired nurse - agreed. "I think we need a change," she said.

At one point a volunteer election marshal appeared from the voting area to make sure The Times remained more than 75 feet away from the entrance, as required by the law.

The marshal, Durand Wong - a 43-year-old stockbroker - said that most Arizonans had turned up to vote before 6am, but that only about 50 people had been queued up at any one time. Mr Wong, dressed in shorts, white T-shirt and orange cap, with a sticker on his chest which read "I Voted Early", said he had thought for a while about voting for McCain but in the end settled on Obama. "He'll give a boost to the confidence of the markets," he said, noting that the Dow Jones was already rallying. But at what point had Mr Wong changed his mind about the Republican ticket?

"When Sarah Palin winked during that TV show," he replied.

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