ROCHESTER — There will be no postdebate reprieve for Delaware Sen. Joe Biden as he's scheduled to address voters at the American Legion on Monday morning.

The Democratic vice presidential candidate is expected to echo the message he tried to deliver during the vice presidential debate with Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin on Thursday — that he and presidential candidate Illinois Sen. Barack Obama are the true champions of the middle class.

"Sen. Biden will come to New Hampshire to talk about the challenges we face on Main Street," said Sandra Abrevaya, an Obama campaign spokeswoman. "Sen. Biden will discuss the critical importance of an economic plan that gives back to hard-working American families instead of taxing their health care plans and a giving breaks to CEOs of big corporations."

Abrevaya also said Biden will outline the campaign's economic policy, which includes $1,000 tax credits for the middle class "that will finally make the playing field fair."

Biden trumpeted these points during the debate with Palin, the Republican vice presidential candidate, when he told voters he understands what it is like to face hard decisions while sitting at the kitchen table.

Biden's visit marks the third time in the last month that he, Obama and McCain have returned to New Hampshire, a battleground state. At stake are New Hampshire's four electoral votes, and both campaigns realize they could be very important as the presidential race tightens between now and the Nov. 4 general election, according to Jennifer Donahue, the political director at St. Anselm College's New Hampshire Institute of Politics in Goffstown.

"I really don't think we should be surprised if the candidates come back again and again," she said, "because every electoral vote is going to matter in this map."

Donahue pointed out that New Hampshire's four electoral college votes decided the 2000 presidential election and gave President Bush a narrow victory over then-Vice President Al Gore. She believes the same scenario could play out again.

Donahue said Biden, the senior senator from Delaware, made the case that he understands the challenges faced by middle class families and the campaign feels comfortable with Biden being their point person to carry that message to voters here on Monday.

A new poll released by St. Anselm College showed Obama has a 12-point lead over Arizona Sen. John McCain, the Republican presidential nominee, but it also showed the candidates are dead even in the Merrimack Valley area, which includes the vote-rich Manchester and Nashua area. Historically, many New Hampshire elections have been decided by which candidate carries that heavily populated region, Donahue said.

Donahue also said the Obama campaign realizes that McCain could pull off a victory in New Hampshire, just like he did in the New Hampshire presidential primary in January and in 2000.

When asked whom they plan to vote for in the Nov. 4 election, 49 percent of respondents said Obama and 37 percent answered McCain. Another 11 percent said they are undecided and 4 percent indicated they would support another candidate.

Among voters who cast their ballots for Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., in the New Hampshire Primary, 80 percent said they will vote for Obama in November.

"The poll indicates that Obama bridged the gap with Clinton supporters, after losing to her in the New Hampshire Primary," Donahue said. "Obama now has four out of five Democrats behind him."

Donahue said she didn't think Palin would follow Biden to New Hampshire, at least any time soon. She said Palin will likely spend more time in the Midwest and western states before coming to New Hampshire.

The Biden event in Rochester will begin at 8 a.m. at the American Legion, located at 94 Eastern Ave., and shuttle service will be available from the parking lot at Emmanuel Advent Christian Church, 24 Eastern Ave., starting at 8 a.m. The event is free and open to the public, but a ticket is required. Ticket distributions will be held at the following locations:

Rochester Campaign for Change Office, 28 N. Main St., Saturday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m.

Dover Campaign for Change Office, 11 Chestnut St., Saturday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m.

Somersworth Democracy Factory, 65 Green St., Saturday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m.

Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., with his wife, Jill Biden, hold Detroit Red Wings jerseys at a rally in front of the Detroit Public Library in Detroit, Mich., Sunday, Sept. 28, 2008.(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)