Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has had fans here in Washington state long before presidential hopeful John McCain named her his running mate in the presidential election.

Palin's aunt lives east of the Cascades in Kennewick, and her uncle lives to the south, in Vancouver, Wash.

And both of them are still getting used to the idea that their niece has been selected as a candidate for the vice presidency of the United States.

As soon as McCain introduced Palin to America on Friday morning, the phone at Colleen Jones' Kennewick home started ringing.

"They said, 'Turn on your news right now,' so we did," says Palin's aunt. "We've been glued to the TV for the next - we just turned it off - for about seven hours."

Jones says Sarah Palin has stayed in touch with her over the years, and she has many mementoes of her niece. She still has the photos from when Sarah was the second runner-up for the title of Miss Alaska.

Aunt Colleen was proud of her then - and is really proud of her now.

And she's not the only one.

Despite Sarah Palin's claims that she is just an "average hockey mom," her uncle in Vancouver, Doug Palin, says she is far more than that.

"I think she will rise to the occasion," he says. "Even though she is not that experienced, I think she will rise to that occasion."

The Alaskan governor's nickname in high school was "Sarah Baracuda" - and she was known for her competitive spirit.

And before school, at 3 a.m., she and her father would sometimes go moose hunting.

Now a lifelong member of the NRA, a mother of five, and a pro-life avocate, she was chosen by McCain in the hope that she can draw in support of former Hillary Clinton backers.

Whether that strategy will work remains to be seen.

Allida Black, a Hillary Clinton supporter, says: "Does he (McCain) think that's really going to work? I mean does he think that women who are with Hillary think Hillary is some Lego block - you know - you can take out a red one and put in a green one?"

But one thing's for sure - Palin has the votes of her family here, who think she can help pave a path to the White House.

"She's the salt of the earth," says aunt Colleen Jones. "I can't imagine them finding anything wrong with her."

And uncle Doug Palin says, "Well, I hope I get invited to the inauguration. I would go, wouldn't you?"

Gov. Palin's mom was planning on traveling to Richland, Wash., for her 50th high school class reunion next week while her husband went moose hunting.

But their plans have changed.

They will both be in St. Paul for the Republican National Convention.