Obama on Monday morning also canceled a Tuesday campaign event in Green Bay, Wis.
Romney scrubbed events in Virginia on Sunday to join running mate Paul Ryan on an Ohio bus tour. A rally Tuesday in New Hampshire has also been canceled, campaign officials said.
Even under normal circumstances, the last days of a presidential campaign can be a flurry of improvisation. Plans are scrambled and events added to the schedule at the last minute as candidates try to wring maximum advantage from their final opportunities to appeal directly to voters. Hurricane Sandy, headed for landfall on the Mid-Atlantic coast Monday, adds another unpredictable factor to the endgame.
The latest Washington Post-ABC News tracking poll shows the race holding at a statistical dead heat, with Romney ahead 49 percent to 48 percent.
Both campaigns are scrambling to evaluate Sandy’s potential impact on swing states such as Ohio, North Carolina, Virginia and New Hampshire. Obama adviser David Axelrod said Sunday that it could reduce turnout and hurt Obama’s reelection chances.
“Obviously we want unfettered access to the polls, because we believe that the more people come out, the better we’re going to do,” he said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “And so, to the extent that it makes it harder, that’s a source of concern.”
Romney senior adviser Kevin Madden said that plans could change depending on the severity of the storm and that “our top priority is the safety and security” of those who may be in harm’s way.
“We’ll have to monitor the storm in case we need to make any adjustments,” he said. “But it’s hard to predict right now.”
For the moment, Romney and Ryan are expected to keep campaigning separately in Ohio, Florida, Wisconsin and Iowa.
The impending storm has already disrupted early voting in the Washington region. D.C. election officials canceled early balloting on Monday, as did Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D), citing concerns about the ability of voters to travel or reach polls in areas under mandatory or voluntary evacuations. He said the lost day could possibly be made up Friday.
More than 20 percent of Maryland’s electorate was expected to cast ballots during the scheduled six days of early voting. While there is little doubt that Obama will carry the state, the storm could affect the outcome of ballot measures on same-sex marriage, the expansion of casino gambling and the extension of tuition breaks to some illegal immigrants.
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