Scoring an endorsement of national importance, Barack Obama threw down a marker Friday in the race for Oregon's suddenly important 65 votes for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Hillary Clinton's camp responded by saying she would be in Oregon within weeks, well before primary voting starts.

Until early primaries failed to decide the contest, it appeared that the counting of Oregon's primary ballots on May 20 would be an academic exercise.

But Obama's four-stop swing through Oregon -- including a high-profile endorsement from New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson -- demonstrated that the results may be important as the two candidates try to sew up the nomination before the contest reaches the floor of the national convention this summer.

Pollster Tim Hibbitts of Portland said there are no recent, public poll results on the Obama-Clinton matchup in Oregon. He said his impression is that the race is too close to call, but Clinton is the underdog.

The cheers were deafening as Obama walked into the Memorial Coliseum Friday morning, rallying for support from Oregonians. Obama dove into his speech talking about schools and health care, two issues very important to Oregonians. "We can not wait to fix our schools. We can not wait to fix our health care system. The time is now! Change doesn't happen from the top down, it happens from the bottom up," he said.

He also talked about the war in Iraq and the country's economic troubles. "Part of the reason why we are not investing is that we are spending $10 to $12 billion a month in Iraq," Obama said. "I don't want to just end the war, I want to end the mindset that got us into the war."

NM Gov. Richardson endorses Obama:

Richardson, the nation's only Hispanic governor, endorsed Sen. Barack Obama for president during the Portland event just before introducing the candidate to the mass of screaming fans in Portland.

Richardson called Obama a "once-in-a- lifetime leader" who can unite the nation and restore America's international leadership.

Richardson has been relentlessly wooed by Obama and Clinton for his endorsement. As a Democratic superdelegate, the governor plays a part in the tight race for nominating votes and could bring other superdelegates to Obama's side. He also has been mentioned as a potential running mate for either candidate.

Rockstar frenzy

Obama's Portland visit was announced Tuesday evening. By noon Wednesday, all 11,000 online tickets for Obama's Portland visit were snatched up, and the remaining thousand or so tickets were given out at his Portland campaign headquarters shortly after it opened Wednesday afternoon.

The Senator has several other appearances, including at McArthur Court in Eugene Friday night and in Medford on Saturday. Obama will also stop in Salem on Friday afternoon for a 1 p.m. event at the Salem Armory.

 Slideshow: Photos of Obama rally

More: Oregon Schedule & Tickets

 Share/read comments: Why all the excitment?

In advance of a Portland speech, Barack Obama took some exercise and had some advice for those in a region thick with sneakers, bicycles and walking paths: "Stay fit."

That came as he left a downtown Portland hotel Friday morning accompanied by his Secret Service detail. He told KGW reporter Jennifer Iveson, "I'm going to have a good workout."

Obama collected about $200,000 during a Portland fundraiser and rally in September.

Democratic rival New York Sen. Hillary Clinton hasn't yet been to Oregon during her presidential campaign but her staff says she will.

Tickets went fast

A frenzy developed on the Portland Craigslist Web site in the hours after all the Portland tickets were given away.

 More: Ticket frenzy

Read Craiglist posts

Desperate posts began to appear on Craigslist, including a teenager who just came of voting age, pleading for the chance to hear a presidential hopeful. On the other side, there was a lucky ticket-holder who offered to give up his seats in exchange for an X-Box 360.

Ballots for the mail-in primary go out in six weeks. The results are tallied on May 20.

It was Obama’s second visit to Oregon. Tickets to his Portland event sold out before 1 p.m. Wednesday.

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(NWCN reporter Wilson Chow and AP also contributed to this article.)