Karin Cramer exited Republican headquarters Sunday afternoon with a smile on her face a mile wide.

In her hand were two tickets to Tuesday's rally at Franklin & Marshall College for GOP presidential nominee Sen. John McCain. More importantly to her, they were tickets to see McCain's running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who, it was announced Saturday, would accompany McCain to Lancaster County.

"I think she's amazing," Cramer, 33, of Millersville, said. "She's proven herself not only to be a strong leader, but a strong woman who has carried herself with dignity through many challenges. I have the utmost respect for her, and I think she's a great addition to the ticket."

McCain and Palin will appear at F&M's Alumni Sports & Fitness Center at 3:30 p.m. Doors open at 1:30. The event originally was planned as a town-hall-style forum but has been switched to a rally because of the number of people expected to attend.

McCain and Palin will visit the county five days after McCain's Democratic opponent, Sen. Barack Obama, spoke to a crowd of about 15,000 at Buchanan Park.

"Demand for tickets has been hot," Scott Martin, co-chairman of the local McCain campaign, said at headquarters Sunday. "We're trying to find as many tickets as possible, and that has meant pulling from other counties."

Paul Lindsay, regional communications director for the McCain campaign, declined to say how many tickets were being made available to the event.

"At this point, we don't want to put a number on it because we want to make sure we get as many people in as possible," Lindsay said Sunday afternoon. "If people want to attend, we'll do anything we can to make that happen."

Martin estimated that about 5,000 tickets had been picked up at the Lancaster GOP office during the weekend.

Since McCain's visit was confirmed Thursday, volunteers said they have seen a steady stream of people seeking tickets at the GOP office. Saturday's announcement that Palin would visit as well took it to a whole new level.

"Today has been explosive," volunteer Diane Moore, an East Hempfield committeewoman, said Sunday afternoon. "I don't want to take anything away from McCain — the tickets would still be going — but there's a real interest in Palin. The social conservatives in Lancaster County are very excited that she's been added to the ticket."

East Petersburg resident Dan Myers, who picked up tickets Sunday afternoon, said Palin brings "youth and excitement" to the ticket and has made him "more enthusiastic" about the race.

"And as a former resident of Alaska, I like the way she does things," he said. "She's got that frontier spirit."

Tickets for the event are free and are available at party headquarters, 902 Columbia Ave. For information call the office at 392-4165.

In anticipation of the McCain-Palin visit, Gov. Ed Rendell and local Democrats will hold a "welcome" for the candidates this afternoon outside the F&M Alumni Sports & Fitness Center.

The group, which includes Lancaster Mayor Rick Gray, will meet at 2 p.m. and reaffirm their stand that electing McCain means "more of the same."

E-mail: jtodd@lnpnews.com