Republican presidential nominee John McCain said Friday that Georgia will be a competitive state in the race for the presidency and he vowed to return and fight for every vote.

And while McCain praised Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue, who was by his side, the Arizona senator said he hasn't begun the process of choosing a running mate.

"I'll be coming back to this great state," McCain told a crowd of several hundred Chick-fil-A employees at the company's corporate headquarters in southern Atlanta. "It'll be competitive in the general election. I know it's a long time between now and November, but this is going to be a tough campaign and I'll need every single vote."

During a brief news conference following the town hall, McCain was asked why, considering Georgia hasn't voted for a Democrat for president since 1992, he would consider the state anything other than solidly Republican.

"There are certain dynamics in this state with the dynamic growth and the new population from all over America who have come here for jobs and opportunities. ... I think [that] has made this state much more competitive."

Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue seemed to be more optimistic than McCain.

"Georgians understand straight talk," said Perdue, who endorsed McCain on Monday and hosted a fund raiser for him Thursday night in Buckhead. "They understand solutions. John McCain is a candidate I think Georgians will identify they can put their trust in."

When voters go to the polls, Perdue said, they'll consider which candidate will make the country safer.

"And the clearest contrast we've ever seen in candidates will be before us, irrespective of who the Democrat candidate is," Perdue said.

McCain was asked during the town hall about how he will choose a vice presidential nominee.

"The prime criteria would be whether that person could take your place immediately," McCain said. "But, also, not only share your vision and values but also your priorities."

He said he and his advisors have not started the selection process.

Asked by a reporter later about rumors that Perdue was on a list of potential VPs, McCain demurred.

"I know he will play a strong role nationally" in the campaign, McCain said, adding again that, "we haven't begun the process."

During the town hall, McCain stood on a riser with a giant American flag as a backdrop. Hundreds of Chick-fil-A employees sat in chairs and stood at railings as high as four stories up in the company's atrium.

McCain charmed them with jokes, and promised not to pander.

Upon being told that Perdue shot the biggest turkey in his hunting party this past weekend, McCain quipped, "I bet that's not the only turkey you've killed politically."

But McCain was also serious.

"I will say things you want to hear but I also may say some things you don't want to hear," he said. "I think if you're going to win somebody's vote, first you have to win their respect."

In 20 minutes of remarks, McCain called for making the Bush tax cuts permanent, for vigilance in Iraq, for an end to government largesse and for a new energy policy.

His biggest applause line of the morning, however, was his now famous promise to follow Osama bin Laden "to the gates of hell" if he has to.

The audience included several students from Impact 360, a nine-month program for students ages 18-20, affiliated with Chick-fil-A. Students from the program asked McCain several questions, ranging from the war in Iraq to his role models.

One employee, standing at the second floor railing, asked McCain his position on illegal immigration.

McCain responded with a joke.

"Yes," McCain said, "illegal immigration. This meeting is adjourned."

The levity was meant to mask the fact that McCain's bid for the nomination was nearly derailed by his earlier support for an immigration reform bill that critics said offered amnesty for illegal workers.

"It is an emotional issue with America," McCain continued. "It is a national security issue with America and it is also a Judeo-Christian issue with America."

He said the first duty is to secure the nation's borders and that only once that was done to the satisfaction of border state governors would he work to create a temporary worker program.

"I believe we need temporary workers," he said. "I believe I can back that up with statistics."