Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain took their final shots at each other and swept across battleground states on Monday to wrap up a US presidential campaign in which Obama was leading but McCain hoped to pull off a historic upset.

After campaigning for almost two years, the candidates were running on adrenaline, buoyed by big crowds and preparing to end up in their home states - Obama in Illinois, McCain in Arizona - to await Americans' judgment on Tuesday.

Huge challenges are in store for the winner, including restoring growth to the sagging US economy, fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, getting a handle on a budget deficit running close to $500 billion and restoring the luster of the world's lone superpower.

Interest in the election to determine a successor to unpopular President George W. Bush was high. Millions of Americans had already voted early and election officials were bracing for long lines at polling stations. A record turnout, easily eclipsing the 2004 vote total of more than 121 million, was possible.

The candidates began the last day of campaign 2008 in Florida, scene of the famous 2000 recount battle that Bush won and a state McCain needs to stave off defeat. McCain was hitting seven states in 22 hours in a last-ditch marathon.

Illinois Sen. Obama, 47, who would be America's first black president, rode his message as an anti-Bush change agent and was sailing along with the lead in national opinion polls and in many swing states that will determine the outcome.

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