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ANCHORAGE--Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Democrat Tony Knowles planned to spend the final day before Tuesday's election rallying their voter bases.

Over the weekend, Knowles and Murkowski crossed the state, concentrating less on convincing the few remaining undecided voters and seeking instead to energize their faithful.

The contest is one of fewer than a dozen nationwide seen as competitive and that could affect the balance of the Senate now held by Republicans.

Today, Murkowski planned to attend rallies in Kenai, Anchorage and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. Knowles also was to campaign in Kenai and Anchorage as well as Fairbanks.

The candidates' presence at events around the state appeared to enliven volunteers and staff over the weekend. On Saturday, Knowles flew by chartered jet from Anchorage to Juneau, Sitka, Valdez and back. On Sunday, he flew to Fairbanks, Kotzebue and Bethel and back to Anchorage, then on to Wasilla.

Murkowski attended events Saturday in Anchorage, Eagle River and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, and on Sunday boarded a 7 a.m. flight to Fairbanks to attend church in the city where she grew up. Former state representative Jeannette James took Murkowski to North Pole for a campaign stop, then back to Fairbanks for a rally at a snowmachine showroom before returning to Anchorage late that afternoon.

Sunday afternoon, about 250 people, many of them sportsmen brought out by the Alaska Outdoors Council and the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Association, filled the showroom of a snowmachine and boat dealership near the Fairbanks airport. U.S. Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho, a member of the National Rifle Association board, mingled in the crowd before Murkowski's arrival.

Acknowledging there were few undecided voters left, Craig said he was there to "help rally the troops, fly the colors," and planned to do the same today in Washington state on behalf of U.S. Rep. George Nethercutt, who is running for the Senate against Patty Murray.

Addressing the crowd, Murkowski said she was thrilled.

"Being here and being home, seeing the energy--the enthusiasm is there because we are winning, and we're winning because we're doing it right," she said.

At a rally in Kotzebue, Knowles spoke about his "secret weapon," the campaign's field organization. With just two days left, the field organizers spread through the state could be behind a Knowles victory, sending canvassers to knock on doors and encourage people to vote Tuesday.

Canvassers knocked on 46,000 doors on Saturday and about 50,000 more on Sunday, Knowles said.

Knowles told a crowd of about 30 adults and a dozen children in Bethel that in the 1994 governor's race, he went home that night thinking he and Fran Ulmer had lost the election because they were behind by 4,000 votes. But he got a call about midnight from then-aide Bob King telling him that Nome votes were coming in and they were just 400 votes behind. He and Ulmer won by about 500 votes.

"Every vote counts," he told the group. "I've never forgotten where those votes came from."

And at the Nullagvik Hotel in Kotzebue, about 20 supporters listened to Knowles talk about the role of federal government in their lives, how it could help them lower the cost of fuel and electricity.

"You have the power, not them, and that's how you exercise it on Election Day," he said.