LOGAN, W.Va. — Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama made their closing arguments in West Virginia on Monday on the eve of the state's Democratic presidential primary, which Clinton is expected to win.

Stumping all day in the state, Clinton pressed her case on why she's best suited to be the party's nominee, despite trailing Obama in pledged delegates and the popular vote.

"The goal is to nominate someone who can beat John McCain in November," Clinton told a crowd in a packed middle-school gymnasium. "I wouldn't be in this race, I wouldn't be going up and down West Virginia ... I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't believe I could be the best president for West Virginia and America."

Obama, meanwhile, did a drive-by stop in the state, delivering a speech honoring veterans in Charleston that was aimed more toward the general election and a match against presumptive Republican candidate Sen. John McCain than today's contest against Clinton.

"I'm honored that some of you will support me, and I understand that many more in West Virginia will probably support Sen. Clinton," Obama said in prepared remarks to a small crowd in Charleston's convention center. "But when it's over, what will unify us as Democrats — what must unify us as Americans — is an unyielding commitment to the men and women who've served this nation and an unshakable fidelity to the ideals for which they've risked their lives."

Obama's comments reflect the reality on the ground in the Mountaineer State — that he's poised to lose here, big time. A poll released today by Boston's Suffolk University showed Clinton with a commanding 36-point lead over Obama — 60 percent to 24 percent.

Clinton campaign officials say that her expected victory here today will underscore her point to the Democratic Party establishment and superdelegates that she's the stronger candidate in crucial swing states and constituencies — especially working-class whites — that often prove critical to Democrats' chances in November.

In between visits to upcoming primary states — Kentucky, Oregon and South Dakota — Obama has scheduled stops this week in general election battleground states, including Missouri and Michigan.

And Obama campaign officials announced that he'll soon go to Florida, where, like Michigan, he didn't officially campaign in January primaries because the states violated party rules by moving up their voting dates.

"Our schedule reflects the fact that we are still fighting for votes and delegates in the remaining contests, but also that we are going to places that are going to be competitive in the fall," Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton said.