How does the governor deliver the state?

[FerrisBueller86]

I keep hearing about how a governor is supposed to deliver his/her state for the party's nominee.

How does this happen, both legitimately and fraudulently?

How does the governor help?  I don't think swing voters run around thinking, "My beloved governor is a Democrat/Republican, therefore I'm voting for the Democratic/Republican presidential nominee."  The Democratic governors of Wyoming, Kansas, Arizona, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Iowa (battleground state), and New Mexico (battleground state) weren't able to deliver their states for Kerry.  The Republican governors of New Hampshire (battleground state), California,  Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota (battleground state), New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont were unable to deliver their states for Bush.

I've also heard that the governor is important for either helping his/her party steal the vote or stopping the opposite party from doing so.  What role does the governor play in stealing the vote or preventing this from happening?  Could Florida have been stolen without Jeb Bush?  Could Ohio have been stolen without Bob Taft and Ken Blackwell?  How would Rendell have stopped any attempts by the Republicans to steal Pennsylvania?  Why couldn't the Bush campaign have found a way to steal the state from under him?  How do we know that the Bush campaign didn't find a way around Richardson to steal New Mexico or around Vilsack to steal Iowa?  For that matter, how do you know that the Kerry campaign didn't get around Pawlenty to steal Minnesota or around  Benson to steal New Hampshire?