Edit: pushed it too soon.
A few hundred linear miles is no big deal. I'm not talking about seeing them in one day; it takes months for a candidate up here to get to most of his prospective constituents. However, it's still what you need to do if you want to win. The problem isn't the transportation it seems, it's the number of people.
It's still part of the job; if you want to be a politician and represent people, it's a good idea to have met them so you can get a feel for what they want... and let them get a feel for you.