WASHINGTON -- The volunteer networks are already up and running, staffers are being picked and campaign offices will soon open.

Kentucky and Indiana -- little more than afterthoughts in recent presidential primary seasons because their elections are so late in the campaign -- will draw the full attention this year of Democratic U.S. Sens. Barack Obama of Illinois and Hillary Clinton of New York.

The two primaries -- Indiana's on May 6 and Kentucky's on May 20 -- are in the plans of both candidates as they struggle for advantage in a close race.

"Everybody's in play," said Democratic strategist Morris Reid. "I think it will be settled right before the convention (Aug. 25-28), but they're going to play this thing all the way out."

That's good news to many Kentucky and Indiana Democrats tired of watching presidential campaigns pass them by. Neither state has played much of a role for more than two decades.

"It would be nice if Indiana and Kentucky mattered for a change," said Brian Applegate, a Clarksville, Ind., postal carrier who is backing Obama. "It keeps everyone more interested and more active in the process."

Obama and Clinton first will be preoccupied with the April 22 Pennsylvania primary, where the 158 delegates are the largest single-state pot of votes among the remaining contests.

Both campaigns see Kentucky and Indiana as integral to their strategies. Indiana has 72 delegates; Kentucky, 51.

"We are going to have a strong presence in both states," said Clinton campaign spokesman Isaac Baker.

"We take each contest seriously," said Obama campaign spokeswoman Shannon Gilson. "As Senator Clinton has said, this is a race for delegates. We plan to be competitive in each of these states."

Thousands of people packed a high school gym in Plainfield, Ind., yesterday to hear Obama speak to a crowd of about 3,200 people.

GETTING ACCESS

Obama and Clinton have secured some endorsements in both states, which can give them valuable access to local campaign operatives and help with the political terrain.

U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana, state Democratic Party Chairman Dan Parker and former Gov. Joe Kernan are with Clinton, as is the former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Joe Andrew.

Obama's endorsements include Cordelia Lewis Burks, vice chairwoman of the Indiana Democratic Party, and Gary Mayor Rudy Clay.

In Kentucky, Rep. John Yarmuth, D-3rd District, is supporting Obama, but he is one of the few prominent Kentuckians to announce a preference.

Some key Democratic officeholders, including Gov. Steve Beshear and Rep. Ben Chandler, D-6th District, have remained uncommitted.

Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics, said that at this early stage, based on demographics, Kentucky appears to lean toward Clinton, and Indiana "could go either way."

In Kentucky, he said, "you have a lot of working-class white Democrats who would be inclined toward Clinton, and the senior population is fairly substantial and that's where a lot of her votes are coming from."

And in Indiana, Sabato said, Bayh's influence and stature should help Clinton.

Bayh told reporters earlier that Clinton appeals to voters in Indiana, a working-class Midwestern state, just as she did in Ohio, where she won.

Obama gets a lot of exposure in Indiana, being from the neighboring state of Illinois.

And portions of Western Kentucky served by Illinois television stations have seen a lot of Obama.

As for the potential that the Obama-Clinton contest will divide the party -- to its detriment in the general election -- there will be no long-lasting negative effects, said Terry McBrayer, a Democratic National Committee member from Kentucky who is supporting Clinton.

"I don't think it hurts anything," he said. "Look at the excitement! That's what a democracy is about."

Kentucky last played a role in presidential primary politics in 1976, when then-President Gerald Ford, a Republican, was being challenged by former California Gov. Ronald Reagan.

Reagan appeared to be gaining momentum until Kentucky.

Ford won a narrow victory and ultimately went on to capture the GOP nomination, losing the general election to Jimmy Carter.

In 1984 Indiana shared the spotlight with Ohio's primary, both featuring tough fights on the Democratic side between then-Sen. Gary Hart of Colorado and former Vice President Walter Mondale. Hart won both states, but Mondale was the nominee.

In 1968, the Indiana Democratic primary was a key upset victory for Sen. Robert Kennedy of New York, who battled Sen. Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota and Indiana Gov. Roger Branigin (a favorite-son candidate standing in for President Lyndon B. Johnson, who had withdrawn from the race).

Andrew, the former nation- al party chairman who this year is an Indiana superdelegate pledged to Clinton, said the Kentucky and Indiana primaries will be a huge boost for the Democrats because more party voters will become engaged in the campaign.

"Obama clearly brings new voters to polls, as does Clinton, but Obama brings more new voters," he said.

INVOLVEMENT

Victor Davidson, a barber at New T & B Classic Cuts in western Louisville, hopes the fact that votes in Kentucky's primary may make a difference will encourage people to get involved.

"If it's a vote that makes a difference, maybe it will get them out to vote," Davidson said. "I'm an Obama man, myself. … And I'd like to see Hillary as his vice president. I think that will be a winning ticket."

Royce Noble, of Louisville's Schnitzelburg neighborhood, said he would be more excited about the prospect of voting in a Democratic primary that actually mattered if the candidates were better.

"I'm not a big fan of either of them," said Noble, a retired U.S. Naval Ordnance Station worker. "But I think it's good for the state. … It will get us some exposure."

Noble said he'll vote in the primary -- just as he has every election for the past 40 years or so. "I'll probably just flip a coin," he said.