US election campaigns reshuffled as storm nears
Obama and Romney change travel plans in battleground states as storm draws near
US President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney have been forced to overhaul their election campaign plans to avoid Hurricane Sandy that was expected to wreak havoc on the US east coast.
Wary of being seen as putting their political pursuits ahead of public safety, the two presidential candidates cancelled two days of campaigning in the last full week of one of the closest presidential contests in recent US history.
Both men were loath to forfeit face time with voters in key states like Virginia that are likely to be afflicted when Sandy, a winter storm and a cold front collide to form a freak hybrid storm.
Obama cancelled campaign stops yesterday in Virginia and today in Colorado and Wisconsin to monitor the storm. He also cancelled plans to campaign with former President Bill Clinton in Ohio, the swing state seen as key to winning the election.
"The president's priority right now is the safety and security of Americans who are in the path of the storm," White House spokesman Jay Carney said.
Obama's plans to campaign tomorrow in Ohio were still on, though campaign officials said they were evaluating travel plans on an almost hourly basis.