Republican presidential candidate John McCain has arrived in the northern U.S. city of St. Paul, Minnesota, to receive the official nomination at his party's national convention.
McCain was greeted at the airport by members of his family as well as his vice presidential running mate, Sarah Palin, who Wednesday night is delivering a highly-anticipated speech.
Palin, the governor of the far northwestern state of Alaska, and the first female Republican vice presidential candidate, was relatively unknown in national politics until being introduced as McCain's running mate last week.
She has excited many inside the party because of her staunch opposition to abortion and her conservative social views.
But critics say that as a first-term governor, Palin is too inexperienced to serve in high office -- a criticism that Republicans also have used against Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama.
Palin's candidacy also has caused media scrutiny, because of revelations about her pregnant, unmarried teenage daughter, and an ethics investigation in Alaska.
Also speaking at the convention tonight will be former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who ran against McCain for the nomination.
McCain and Palin got rousing endorsements from prominent supporters at the convention Tuesday, including from President George Bush.
Democratic nominee Barack Obama, speaking at a campaign stop today in Ohio, criticized the speakers at the Republican convention for not discussing the economy. He said McCain's campaign has tried to make the election about personality and not issues.