President Barack Obama will address what likely will be more than a thousand people at Colorado College on Thursday, in his last stop of a two-day, four-city tour of the state.

Volunteers spent Monday evening and much of the day Tuesday handing out tickets to enthusiastic Democrats, but even the campaign wasn’t sure how many they gave away.

The rally will be on the Cutler Quad, and the proverbial doors open at 11 a.m. The president will address attendees about 2:30 p.m.

Though Obama’s stopping in such a heavily Republican county might seem counterintuitive to many, the rally makes perfect sense, said Joshua Dunn, associate professor of political science at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.

“Democrats in the past have not paid a lot of attention to El Paso County,” Dunn said. “Instead they go to Pueblo, but there are more Democrats here than in Pueblo County.”

More than 87,000 registered Democrats are in El Paso County, which is 10,000 more than in Boulder County. Only Denver, Arapahoe and Jefferson counties boast more Democrats.

In that light, the race in Colorado — which observers such as Dunn say will be very close — could come down to El Paso County.

Given a poll released Wednesday, Obama has every reason to campaign in Colorado. The poll, done by Quinnipiac University, found Mitt Romney leading Obama 50 percent to 45 percent.

“If it comes down to it, I think the states we might be watching election night are Ohio and Colorado,” Dunn say.

Which is why the state will see a lot more of Obama and Romney before the Nov. 4 election, said Eli Bremer, chairman of the El Paso County Republican Party.

“I believe we’ll go into the election within the margin of error of most polls,” he said.

Romney’s campaign has had surrogates moving up and down the Front Range since Wednesday morning, before Obama made his first Colorado speech. The campaign began holding rallies at 6 a.m. in Greeley and worked its way to Pueblo.

On Thursday, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal will headline three counterrallies in Colorado Springs, plus one in Fountain.

Jindal, who has been a hero to many Republicans and was mentioned in 2008 as a possible running mate for GOP nominee Sen. John McCain, will speak at The Peak Grill at 10:45 a.m., Acacia Park at 2:30 p.m. and the county party headquarters at 4:15 p.m. He’ll speak at 12:30 p.m. in Fountain at Book’s Automotive.

Thursday’s speeches likely will be all about taxes and the economy.

Obama blasted Romney on Wednesday in Denver, and said the former Massachusetts governor would drive the country backward on health care and women’s rights. Later in the day, his campaign issued a press release charging that Romney’s tax plan would cut tax benefits for more than 560,000 Colorado businesses, while giving large corporations huge tax breaks.

Bremer defended Romney, saying he knows what he’s doing when it comes to the economy and taxes.

Obama’s attacks “ring hollow from a guy who passed the largest tax increase in history,” Bremer said, referring to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which Republicans call “Obamacare.”

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