Candidates on their way to Washington

The Washington campaigns for Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama ramped up Wednesday as new volunteers signed on at local headquarters and the candidates firmed up plans to visit the state.

A day after Super Tuesday election results left the Democratic rivals deadlocked in the nomination fight, Clinton's campaign announced she would hold a rally tonight along the Seattle waterfront.

A couple of hours later, Barack Obama's campaign said its candidate would be in Seattle on Friday morning for a rally at KeyArena.

Both campaigns hope to corral as many supporters as they can into Saturday's precinct caucuses, which will determine how 80 of the state's 97 Democratic delegates are allocated at the national convention this summer.

The remaining 17 delegates are so-called superdelegates who can support the candidate of their choosing.

Democrats aren't using the state's presidential primary on Feb. 19 to apportion delegates, so this Saturday's caucus is the only chance for voters to help pick the nominee.

Republicans will allocate about half of their 40 state delegates through the caucuses and the rest through the primary.

Clinton volunteers are hosting regular caucus training sessions across the state to help supporters understand what's expected of them at the town hall-style caucuses.

At Obama's campaign, volunteers have stepped up their door-to-door canvassing efforts, even gathering Wednesday at Seattle ferry terminals to hand out information to commuters.

With interest in the Clinton-Obama battle growing, both campaigns are attracting new volunteers.

"I just found out about this caucus business this morning," said Terry Shull, 70, a retired naval officer, sitting at a desk at the Obama headquarters in Pioneer Square. "I said, 'What? The primary doesn't matter at all? That's nuts!' So I figured I'd better help make sure everyone else knows they have to show up at a caucus."

Shull, who says he's never been involved in politics before this election, began volunteering for the first time Wednesday.

He spent the morning sitting elbow to elbow with about 20 other volunteers, who straddled wooden chairs, munched on M&Ms and Doritos, and called list after list of Obama supporters to remind them where they need to go on Saturday.

"I'm inspired. We have the power to cause change. And we only have three days left," Shull said, his native Southern accent seeping into his speech.

At Clinton's campaign headquarters down the road in South Park, the type of junk food is different, but the sentiment among the volunteers remains the same.

"The biggest hurdle at this point is getting people educated about the importance of this caucus," said Charla Neuman, spokeswoman for the Clinton campaign, gesturing with a McDonald's hamburger. "We're going to be here for the next three days, putting on caucus training sessions, calling supporters and making sure people know what to expect."

Diane Coats, 55, a nurse and mother of two, began volunteering for Clinton for the first time Wednesday.

Like Shull, Coats had never worked on a political campaign before, but after hearing the inconclusive results of Super Tuesday, she said she realized that "our state can actually sway the election. That hasn't happened since I can remember."

Neither Clinton nor Obama plans to leave the results of this Saturday's caucus up to cold calls by volunteers. Both will visit the Seattle area in the next two days.

Clinton is scheduled to appear today at 8 p.m. at Pier 30 on Seattle's waterfront. The event is open to the public, but her campaign didn't release further details. She also will make appearances in the state on Friday, but the details of those events will be announced later, Neuman said.

Obama is scheduled to appear Friday at KeyArena. Doors open at 11 a.m. (RSVPs encouraged: http://my.barackobama.com/page/s/seattle or call 206-529-3859.)

Obama's wife, Michelle, is scheduled to campaign in Spokane the same day.

Although the stakes in Washington aren't as high for the Republicans as they are for the Democrats, Republican campaigns also are feeling the crunch as the caucuses approach.

Republican front-runner John McCain is not scheduled to visit Washington this week but likely will come to the state before the Feb. 19 primary. Meanwhile, his volunteers will continue to remind supporters to attend their caucus.

Republican Mike Huckabee's campaign also is stepping up efforts to contact supporters.

Volunteers are urging Huckabee to visit the state but acknowledge it's a long shot.

"We could keep him busy out here," said Pastor Joe Fuiten of Cedar Park Church in Bothell, head of the unofficial campaign for Huckabee in Washington state. "But this is much more McCain country, and when you are a low-budget operation, you have to make choices and I think we are a low priority."

The candidate's wife, Janet Huckabee, will stop at Northwest University in Kirkland on Friday for a noon rally and to meet with reporters.

Republican Mitt Romney's campaign is relying on "a great network of volunteers" to "make sure people have all the information they need before the caucuses," said campaign volunteer Toby Nixon.

"It'll be an exciting few days," he said.

Haley Edwards: 206-464-2745 or hedwards@seattletimes.com