On what shaped up as her final day campaigning, Hillary Rodham Clinton (web|news|bio) made a last-minute appeal to South Dakota voters amid signs that her marathon race against Barack Obama (web|news|bio) would end soon. "I'm just very grateful we kept this campaign going until South Dakota would have the last word," Clinton said at a restaurant visit here. "What South Dakota decides tomorrow will have a big influence in what people think going forward." The New York senator planned an evening rally in Sioux Falls with her husband, former President Clinton, and their daughter Chelsea before flying east. South Dakota and Montana hold the final two primaries Tuesday, with 31 delegates at stake.

Clinton's advisers privately predicted she would lose both contests, and she planned to hold her primary night rally Tuesday in New York City, a rare departure from the campaign trail. She planned to meet with advisers at her home in Chappaqua, N.Y., on Tuesday.

The New York senator had no other scheduled public events Tuesday.

An adviser speaking on condition of anonymity said it was highly unlikely she would announce an end to her campaign Tuesday night, adding that she would consider all options until Obama secured the 2,118 delegates needed to clinch the nomination.

There were other signs Monday that Clinton was moving to wrap up her historic race for the presidency. Staffers who have worked for her on he ground in the final primaries have been invited to attend Clinton's speech in New York Tuesday go home for further instructions.

But adviser Harold Ickes said the staffers weren't being fired or bid farewell.

"There are no more primaries so there is nowhere to send them," Ickes said, insisting the campaign was now focused on the remaining superdelegates and not on individual states.

Even with her chances of wresting the nomination from Obama all but extinguished, Clinton's supporters and advisers were calling uncommitted superdelegates to persuade them to back her candidacy. Indeed, two new superdelegates - one from Louisiana and one from New York - announced Monday they would support Clinton.

Mark Aronchick, a national fundraiser for Clinton based in Philadelphia, said he was calling "any superdelegate I know" including those who have publicly endorsed Obama in hopes of winning their support. While he said he expected Clinton to stay in the race until Obama secured enough delegates for the nomination, he acknowledged that she faced long odds.

"We're not withdrawing. We're not conceding. We're going on to the end," Aronchick said, adding that whatever the outcome, Democrats would have to move quickly to restore party unity "from top to bottom."

Clinton was scheduled to address the national conference of AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, in Washington Wednesday, as was Obama.

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Beth Fouhy reported from Washington. Associated Press Writer Peter Jackson in Harrisburg, Pa., contributed to this report.

Written By JIM KUHNHENN and BETH FOUHY

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