BANGOR – In a tight race to the Democratic presidential nomination where delegates are at a premium, Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama will hold dueling rallies this weekend a few miles apart in Greater Bangor.

“I’m looking forward to coming to Maine,” Clinton told the Bangor Daily News in a telephone interview Thursday. “I really have enjoyed my visits to Maine, across the state. I’ve been there many times, both for business and pleasure, and I’m looking forward to seeing a lot of old friends.”

Clinton is scheduled to attend a “Solutions for America” town hall meeting at the University of Maine’s Student Recreation Center in Orono Saturday morning. Obama will hold a “Stand for Change” rally at the Bangor Auditorium that afternoon.

The Clinton and Obama campaigns have focused on Maine because of Sunday’s party caucuses. Democrats from 420 Maine towns and cities will caucus at 372 locations to indicate their preference for the party’s standard-bearer. In all, Maine will send 34 delegates and four alternates to the national convention in Denver this summer.

As of Wednesday, Clinton had 1,024 committed delegates and Obama had 933. Maine’s 34 delegates represent just over 1 percent of the 2,025 needed to cinch the Democratic nomination.

Clinton said Maine is facing great challenges and that she has the ability to help resolve them. She said the difficulty of obtaining affordable health care, the high cost of gasoline and heating oil, the loss of jobs in key industries, growing unemployment and the cost of a college education are among the many issues of concern to her.

“There are just so many challenges that families in Maine are facing and I think I have the solutions that I can work toward achieving as president,” she said.

Clinton and Obama both announced their decisions to make campaign swings through the region on Wednesday. On Thursday, Clinton invited Obama to share the stage in a town hall debate in Orono, but his campaign turned down her offer. Obama’s campaign manager, David Plouffe, said the Illinois senator’s timetable for Saturday was much too tight to change. Plouffe acknowledged that Clinton had strong support in Maine but that the campaign was not going to let Clinton dictate its schedule.

“It’s obviously a state that Clinton has some strength in,” Plouffle said. “They clearly see it as a must-win state. We think we can do very well there on Sunday.”

But Plouffe insisted he wasn’t playing down Obama’s chances. His campaign has a good organization on the ground, he said, and is working hard to reach voters before Sunday’s caucuses. He said campaign workers are working the phones and meeting voters. The campaign plans to double up its coverage of precincts throughout the state in an attempt to reach as many voters as possible.

“We’ve found in the caucuses we’ve competed in so far, you really do benefit by having more than one person in a precinct,” Plouffe said. “We benefit when the pool of voters is expanded.”

Clinton said Obama’s decision not to join her in a debate was unfortunate because it’s important for them to discuss the issues. She noted that she had accepted “every single” debate offer that came her way. Now that the campaign is down to two challengers, open discussion is critical.

“There has only been a week where we’ve just had the two of us running and I think that we owe the voters an opportunity to evaluate and judge us,” Clinton said.

When asked to respond to Obama’s claims that she would be a target for Republicans, Clinton replied that either candidate would be in the cross hairs but that she believed she had been tested and proved to be effective in running against them.

“I also know that whatever we have to face in the campaign is likely to be very challenging for Democrats, and if you are worried about who is your best nominee, I think you know that I have been successful in winning over Republicans in my runs in New York. I’ve worked with Republicans in the Senate but I also know how to stand my ground in a campaign.”

Clinton was invited to the state by Gov. John Baldacci, a longtime friend and supporter. Baldacci and the Clinton family go back many years, starting with Bill Clinton’s first campaign for president in 1992. The Clintons visited the family restaurant, Mama Baldacci’s, during one of their stops in the city, and Baldacci worked closely with the Clinton administration when he served in Congress.

Baldacci was traveling with the former president in southern Maine on Thursday and could not be reached for comment. His spokesman, David Farmer, said the governor had been in frequent contact with the campaign and urged Hillary Clinton to make a visit to the state after the Super Tuesday primaries.

“It was time for Maine to take the spotlight after Super Tuesday and he wanted her to be here,” Farmer said.

In his endorsement of Clinton and during a rally at the State House on Thursday morning, Baldacci said her experience, strength of character and grasp of the issues are what’s needed to lead the nation.

While saying that Hillary Clinton has been responsive to Mainers’ needs in the past and that she shows concern for workingmen and women, Baldacci said both Clinton and Obama were strong candidates.

“I think it’s great we’re having both candidates here,” the governor said.

Baldacci is expected to attend the Clinton rally on Saturday. One source also indicated there is always the possibility the former president would meet up with his wife in Orono.

U.S. Reps. Tom Allen and Michael Michaud, who have not yet committed to a candidate, were scheduled to make campaign appearances elsewhere Saturday and would not attend either the Clinton or Obama rallies. Both welcomed the candidates to the state.

“Here in Maine, Senator Clinton and Senator Obama are going to find the most enthusiastic and informed voters they could find anywhere in America,” said Allen’s U.S. Senate campaign spokeswoman, Carol Andrews.

A spokesman for Michaud described the visit as a “unique situation” and said he is pleased the candidates are coming to Maine. The congressman “hopes it will give the voters something to think about when they go to the caucuses on Sunday,” said spokeswoman Monica Castellanos.

At Thursday’s Augusta rally, two former John Edwards supporters, Senate President Beth Edmonds of Freeport and Rep. Emily Cain of Orono, said they now were supporting Clinton.

BDN writer Aimee Dolloff and the Associated Press contributed to this report.