AUGUSTA (AP) – With less than two weeks before the election, the campaign trail is getting plenty of traffic in Maine from both presidential campaigns.

Between Tuesday and next Monday, no fewer than six appearances were scheduled in Maine by representatives of President Bush and Sen. John Kerry, and Maine is likely to wind up on the itinerary for other surrogates in the days ahead.

“We’re in the absolute final home stretch, and both campaigns are trying to put on the finishing touches,” University of Maine political science Professor Mark Brewer said Tuesday. “Any place where they still think they can pick up electoral votes, they have to put on a strong presence.”

On Tuesday, Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois made stops in Lewiston and Waterville, where he addressed issues of interest to working-class families on behalf of Kerry.

Russell Train, who headed the Environmental Protection Agency under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, was in Bar Harbor on Tuesday to tout Kerry’s efforts to promote clean air and water laws and alternative energy.

The Bush and Kerry campaigns both say the busy schedule of appearances reflects their candidates’ commitment to winning Maine on Nov. 2.

Seeing virtually all of the stops for both sides in Maine’s 2nd congressional District suggests that Kerry has a commanding lead in southern Maine’s 1st District, Democrats say.

The Kerry-Edwards campaign spokesman in Maine, Jesse Derris, said the Democrats are focusing heavily on the 2nd District, and he expects the heavy traffic there to continue.

Democrats say that as the days go on, their message will shift from the issues to energizing voters.

The Bush-Cheney campaign is conceding none of Maine, said state campaign Chairman Peter Cianchette, a Republican who won more votes than Democrat John Baldacci in the 2002 gubernatorial election in the 1st District but still lost the four-way race.

“President Bush can win in the 1st Congressional District, and there’s no doubt his campaign is doing very well in the 2nd District,” Cianchette said.

Polling data show the presidential race to be in close contention in Maine, one of a dozen states that could come into play in the closing days of the campaign.

The contestants’ campaigns will be in those states ready to pounce on breaking issues on which their opponents are vulnerable, said Brewer.

A frequent Maine visitor and part-time resident of Poland, White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card, is scheduled to be in Lewiston today to meet with small-business owners. U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert of Illinois will also pitch for Bush when he visits Bangor next Monday.

Relatives of the candidates continue to make campaign appearances in Maine. Kerry’s stepson Andre Heinz will urge voter participation and talk about the environment when he visits the University of Maine at Farmington today.

President Bush’s wife, Laura, and their daughters have already campaigned in Maine, as has the president himself and Vice President Dick Cheney.

Vice presidential candidate John Edwards has campaigned in Maine twice in recent weeks, and his wife Elizabeth will make her second visit to Maine later this week, with stops in Waterville on Friday and Auburn on Saturday.

Retired Gen. Merrill McPeak is to speak in Bangor and Lewiston on Wednesday on behalf of Kerry. McPeak, a former member of joint chiefs of staff, is considered one of several possible candidates for defense secretary if Kerry wins.

A current Bush Cabinet member, Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman, is to attend a forum at the University of Maine at Presque Isle on Wednesday with Brian Hamel, the GOP candidate for Maine’s 2nd District seat.

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