Hundreds of hands stretched toward Lynn Swann yesterday as he knelt before the altar of Mount Ararat Baptist Church.

	Tony Tye, Post-Gazette Surrounded by his supporters, Republican gubernatorial candidate Lynn Swann, left, jokes with U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., after a campaign rally yesterday in Green Tree. Click photo for larger image.

The pastor, who had called the Republican candidate for governor forward, asked the hundreds of worshipers to pray "for his mentality, for his stability, for his family, and I want you to ask God to keep them regardless of what happens on Tuesday."

As morning light slanted through high windows, the congregation's extended applause followed Mr. Swann as he walked back to embrace his family in their pew.

"For me, [this was] a wonderful and true response of my faith and the people that I attend church with on a regular basis," he said later. "I was honored and very proud of the congregation."

The interlude in the Larimer church was one of many rituals, sacred or secular, that candidates across the state and the nation followed less than 48 hours before elections that would determine control of Congress, as well as governors' mansions and legislatures.

Gov. Ed Rendell was making his own round of church services in his Philadelphia base, as a new poll seemed to confirm the substantial lead he has maintained over his challenger.

U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum sought votes for his uphill re-election battle, traveling from rally to rally through the Republican heartland in the center of the state, while his challenger, Treasurer Bob Casey, basked in the cheers of union members in a suburban Philadelphia hotel.

Mr. Santorum's seat is coveted by Democrats as one of the six they would need to take control of the Senate in January.

Democrats are even more confident of their prospects for regaining the U.S. House majority they lost in 1994. The race between Rep. Melissa Hart, R-Bradford Woods, and Democrat Jason Altmire is one of the battlegrounds in the party's crusade to gain the 15 seats they need in that chamber.

After church, Mr. Swann showed up for another of Pittsburgh's traditional Sunday liturgies -- tailgating before a Steelers game. But before the crowd got too big, or too drunk, he was off to Green Tree for a get-out-the-vote rally with U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., one of the leading contenders for the GOP presidential nomination in 2008.

With brief speeches, the two complimented one another before joining Republican volunteers seated at long tables phoning potential voters. A Super Bowl XIV ring was on the right hand Mr. Swann used to tap out phone numbers. His Hall of Fame ring dwarfed his wedding ring on the left hand holding the phone.

The volunteer site was one stop on the Republican's vaunted 72-hour tour to drive up voter turnout in an election preceded by months of ominous poll numbers for the GOP. Polls have consistently pointed to the Iraq war as the major cause of voter unease.

In a brief news conference, however, Mr. McCain maintained that it would be a mistake to blame the tough climate for Republican candidates solely on the war. He noted that Sen. Joe Lieberman, the Democrat running as an independent in Connecticut, was leading in the polls despite his support for the war.

But the former Vietnam prisoner-of-war acknowledged that the war is just one contributor to his party's questionable prospects tomorrow.

"It's a combination of factors that we're facing," he said, "including the war, including these scandals, and a number of others, [such as] spending. A lot of our base is upset about spending."

But he maintained that Republican candidates, on the strength of positive economic numbers and a strong message on terrorism, could still outperform the predictions of widespread losses tomorrow. The senator also predicted that his party's turnout machinery could be counted on to produce results belying the poll projections.

"We have a very efficient get-out-the-vote operation," he said as he stood outside a GOP office in Green Tree. "We've seen it in the last few elections, and I just saw it here in the headquarters."

But the size of the crowd that had assembled for his appearance suggested the dimension of the challenge facing the first-time candidate at his side. Fewer than 200 people crowded into the Green Tree headquarters. With a nursing home fire competing for the attention of local television stations, only one camera crew showed up -- and that one late -- to record an event with a once and probably future presidential candidate.

As the statewide candidates prepared for their final pitches, a new survey conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling and Research offered another depiction of the long odds facing the GOP in Pennsylvania. The poll showed Mr. Rendell leading Mr. Swann by a margin of 56 percent to 38 percent. In the Senate race, the results were Mr. Casey, 52 percent, Mr. Santorum, 39 percent.

Today, all of the top-of-the-ballot candidates will observe election eve with stops in Pittsburgh, amid their flying circumnavigations of the state's media markets. Mr. Rendell plans to greet morning commuters at a Downtown T station. Later in the morning, Mr. Casey is to make a speech at a West End senior center.

The two Republicans were scheduled to make their final pre-election appearances in their home bases this evening. Mr. Swann plans a rally at a South Side Serbian Club, while Mr. Santorum will greet his partisans at the Crafton Volunteer Fire Department.