Washington, Oct 31: Republican presidential candidate John McCain predicted that he intends to surge ahead of his rival Barack Obama in the final hours of his underdog presidential campaign

“I hope it peaks out at just about mid-day next Tuesday,” FOX News quoted McCain, as saying.

McCain predicted, “We may be up late” on Election Day. The show of confidence comes as both he and Obama continue to storm battleground states with just five days to go until the election, and as some polls suggest the race is tightening.

A new FOX News-Opinion Dynamics poll out Thursday showed Obama’s national lead dropping from 9 percentage points to 3 points among likely voters since last week.

“I hope it peaks out at just about mid-day next Tuesday. We are excited about where we are going. People are beginning to focus on the campaign,” McCain said.

“We are going to win this election but I understand that it is still an uphill fight, and I have got to be the underdog right up until the polls open. And I am serious about that – that’s when we do best,” he said.

The Democratic candidate still leads in critical battlegrounds, but McCain is attempting to poke holes in his armor by raising questions about his ability to handle a crisis and his economic intentions.

In the latest FOX News poll, 52 percent of voters chose McCain when asked who they trust to handle a foreign crisis that would “test” a new president, compared to 39 percent who chose Obama.

And McCain leads 78 percent to 49 percent on the question of who has the right experience to be commander in chief.

“A lot of the undecided voters are going to decide this race,” McCain said, suggesting that enthusiasm surrounding his running mate Sarah Palin and his campaign’s sudden mascot “Joe the Plumber” would help drive Republican turnout on Election Day. (ANI)