Zeroing in on what could be a key battleground, Barack Obama is planning to triple his campaign team in Missouri, hiring an unprecedented 150 paid staffers as compared with John McCain's expected staff of 14, The Kansas City Star reports.

The paper reported that the Obama campaign plans to set up the workers in 30 field offices across the state. McCain is expected to set up 10 offices -- he currently has four full-time workers in the state.

The Obama campaign is mounting an aggressive 50-state strategy, running ads and campaigning not only in traditional battlegrounds but also states that vote Republican in almost every presidential election.

Polls show Obama trailing McCain in Missouri, but the race is close. An average of Missouri polls on RealClearPolitics.com showed McCain with a 5-point lead over Obama.

The state, with 11 electoral votes, has voted Republican in the last two presidential elections. But a majority of Missouri voters also picked Bill Clinton in the 1992 and 1996 elections.

Obama won the state by a hair in the Democratic primary this year against Hillary Clinton.

Click here to read the full article in The Kansas City Star.