RALEIGH, N.C. - Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Joe Biden spent the day Thursday barnstorming North Carolina, now considered by many to be a crucial swing state in the upcoming presidential election.

Nearly 3,000 people came out to hear Biden speak at Meredith College in Raleigh-the last of his three campaign stops within the state.

"I know that North Carolina is NASCAR country," Biden said. "So let me use some NASCAR terms to describe this race. Right now, our campaigns are trading paint."

North Carolina's status as a swing state is a departure from the state's electoral history. President George W. Bush won North Carolina in both the 2000 and 2004 general election by double digits, and the state has not voted Democratic since 1976.

"I think it [the race] is very exciting," N.C. resident Lora Evans said. "I can feel the shift in people who are ready to support a Democrat."

In the latest Rasmussen poll conducted Oct. 20, Obama leads McCain in the former GOP stronghold, drawing 51 percent of voters' support to McCain's projected 48 percent.

Biden told the crowd that now is the time for change, and that he and Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama are the best candidates to bring about that change.

"I can say without fear of contradiction that this is the most important election of our lifetime. And what we need now is a change in direction." Biden said.

The economy, which according to polls is the number one issue for Americans in this up-coming election, was central in Biden's speech.

"In this election, everybody is asking the same question as they sit around the kitchen table: Is my house worth what I paid for it? Is my company going to send my job overseas? Am I going to be able to send my kid to college?" he said.

Biden also linked McCain to Bush's economic polices. McCain has attempted in his campaign to create distance between himself and the outgoing President.

"There is not one fundamental economic issue in which Sen. McCain has opposed George Bush," Biden said. "I know we are not running against George Bush, but we are running against Bush economic policies that John McCain has supported."

Biden expressed his annoyance toward Republican vice presidential candidate Gov. Sarah Palin's remarks on the pro-American parts of the nation. All of America, he said, is patriotic.

"I was in Pueblo, Colorado a few days ago and let me tell you, Pueblo is just as patriotic as North Carolina, North Carolina is just as patriotic as Delaware and Delaware is just as patriotic as Texas," Biden said. "There are heroes in every state, in every city and in every town."

Biden also challenged what he believed to be the Republican's false and negative attacks on Obama.

"They lie about Barack Obama and they distort his record," he said. "Barack Obama can take two more weeks of these attacks, but the American people cannot take four more years of these divisive politics."

Some Obama supporters said they are worried McCain's attacks on Obama could hurt the Democratic candidate at the polls.

The campaign, however, has been relying on new voters to give Obama the edge in this election. Supporters said they do not think that low voter participation will be a problem this year.

"I think it will really be different," said Mandie Herbert, a junior at Meredith College. "There has been a big push to get people on campus to register and to vote. With one-stop voting, there is no excuse not to."