DENVER — As Sen. Barack Obama accepted the Democratic nomination Thursday evening, the home-state delegation had a front-row seat — a tribute both to its work as host and its position as a key state in November.

Colorado has taken the stage as a new battleground state as the Democrats hope to deliver the state’s nine Electoral College votes to Obama and elect Senate candidate Mark Udall.

At this convention, the phrase “turn the state blue” echoed in many states’ delegate discussions as they strategize a plan against presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain.

Colorado, where Obama holds a razor-thin lead in a RealClearPolitics poll average, is no exception.

“We’re absolutely in play. As a state, we have a Democratic governor and both of our state houses and we are absolutely in a position, I think, and I think you’ll see it, to take the state for Barack Obama,” said Lynn Young, a first-time delegate from Colorado Springs.

Hosting the convention in Denver and opening Obama’s speech to 80,000 members of the public captured the around-the-clock attention of the world’s and the state’s media.

That, delegate Anthony Graves said, could swing the Centennial State toward Obama and draw attention to the concerns of Colorado voters.

“The big issues for most Coloradoans start with the economy. Coloradoans are impacted. They’re sitting around their kitchen tables, they’re talking about how the ends are not being met and they’re looking for answers. And I think that Sens. Obama and Biden, they have the answers for America.”

Stan Matsunaka, the former Colorado state Senate president, said the nation’s focus on domestic energy will give Colorado more attention on the political map.

“People here in Colorado know that the economy’s stagnant and that we have in Colorado a richness in renewable energy, and we’ve already made a commitment in this state. And if we go even further, Colorado’s always going to have a place at the table.”