TACOMA - More than 12,000 people filled Cheney Stadium on Sunday afternoon to see and hear Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Joseph Biden.

It was Biden's first campaign stop in Washington state. And with so many battleground states, some people were surprised that he came at all.

But Biden's message wasn't just to get out the vote for Democratic presidential contender Sen. Barack Obama. He also was in Washington to stump for Gov. Chris Gregoire, locked up in a tight race with Republican candidate Dino Rossi, just 16 days before Election Day.

"The kind of change that we want to bring to this country will be lost - will be lost here in the state of Washington - if you don't re-elect Gov. Gregoire," Biden proclaimed. "She's already doing it. She's already doing it."

The rally turned Tacoma's Cheney Stadium into a big party for Democrats. And Biden took note of the irony of the stadium's name - the same as Republican Vice President Dick Cheney - in his speech.

"I want to thank you for making this stadium today, temporarily changing the name from Cheney stadium to Obama-Biden stadium for the day," he told the charged-up crowd.

"Besides," he quipped, "if it was Cheney's stadium, we'd be at an undisclosed location, and you wouldn't be able to find us."

People showed up early to get inside, and at one point the line wrapped all around the stadium parking lot and spilled into the streets.

U.S. Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., joined Biden on stage, as did Gov. Gregoire.

Biden's visit came on the heels of a key endorsement from former Secretary of State Colin Powell. And at the rally, Biden said that endorsement is proof Obama is ready to lead.

In his speech, Biden thanked Powell and vowed that Obama would be a commander-in-chief that everyone can respect.

There was excitement in the air among the Democratic party faithful who showed up to hear Biden.

One of them was Ben Summerour, who waited six hours to be one of the first inside the stadium.

"I've always had a passion in my life to help people that are less fortunate than me, and I realized it won't really happen unless you get the right people to work for your government," he said.

Tony Evans, who spent eight months registering voters for Obama, also was at the rally.

"Been to Mississippi, been to Birmingham, been to Memphis," he says. "I don't want to be complacent and I don't want to be overconfident. It looks good but we have two weeks left to go."

Biden's appearance at Cheney stadium was a free event for all supporters.

After it was over, Biden left to headline a fundraiser in Seattle where the price for admission is $1,000 a person - or $25,000 for a VIP.