Campaign plans left in doubt by storm

CELINA, Ohio – Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama frantically sought to close the deal with voters with precious few days left in an incredibly close race as this year’s October surprise – an unprecedented storm menacing the East Coast – wreaked havoc on their best-laid plans.

Ever mindful of his narrow path to the requisite 270 electoral votes, Romney looked to expand his map, weighing an intensified effort in traditionally left-leaning Minnesota. Obama sought to defend historically Democratic turf as the race tightened heading into the final week.

Wary of being seen as putting their political pursuits ahead of public safety, the two White House hopefuls reshuffled their campaign plans as the storm approached. Both candidates were loath to forfeit face time with voters in battleground states like Virginia that are likely to be afflicted when Hurricane Sandy, a winter storm and a cold front collide to form a freak hybrid storm.

“The storm will throw havoc into the race,” said Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va.

An opportunity for Obama to demonstrate steady leadership in the face of crisis was offset by the risk that the federal government, as in past emergencies, could be faulted for an ineffective response, with the president left to take the fall.

“My first priority has to be making sure that everything is in place” to help those affected by the storm, Obama told campaign workers Sunday in Orlando.

He told the volunteers they would have to “carry the ball” while he was off the campaign trail.

“I hate to put the burden of the entire world on you, but basically it’s all up to you,” he joked.

Obama will hold a rally in Orlando today with former President Bill Clinton, but he canceled campaign stops in Virginia and Ohio today and in Colorado on Tuesday. He planned to return to Ohio on Wednesday with stops in Cincinnati and Akron, followed by a Thursday swing through Springfield, Ohio, Boulder, Colo., and Las Vegas.

Romney nixed three stops in up-for-grabs Virginia on Sunday, opting instead to campaign with running mate Paul Ryan in Ohio before heading today to Wisconsin, where Romney has chipped away at Obama’s lead.

“I know that right now some people in the country are a little nervous about a storm about to hit the coast, and our thoughts and prayers are with people who will find themselves in harm’s way,” Romney told several hundred supporters crowded into a field house at the University of Findlay, the second of three Sunday rallies.

Romney’s campaign confirmed Sunday that he would not travel to New Hampshire on Tuesday as planned. The campaign already canceled an event today in New Hampshire featuring Romney’s wife, Ann. Advisers say further travel changes are likely as they monitor the storm’s progress.

Vice President Joe Biden canceled an event today in New Hampshire. “The last thing the president and I want to do is get in the way of anything. The most important thing is health and safety,” Biden said.

Ryan planned to leave Ohio at midday for three stops in Florida. His Tuesday schedule, however, shifted him to stops in Colorado instead of Virginia.

The prospect that bad weather could hinder early voting and get-out-the-vote efforts is vexing to both Obama and Romney. Early voting today in Maryland and the District of Columbia was canceled.

“Obviously, we want unfettered access to the polls, because we think the more people that come out, the better we’re going to do,” said David Axelrod, a top adviser to Obama’s campaign. “To the extent that it makes it harder, that’s a source of concern.”

In Virginia, one of the most competitive states in the race, election officials eased absentee voting requirements for those affected by the storm.

“The state board of elections is already planning for extended hours in advance for absentee voting, and it’s now a priority, moved up to the same level as hospitals and police stations to have power restored,” said Gov. Bob McDonnell, a top Romney ally.

With time running out, both campaigns appeared to be fine-tuning their map of the states where they’re campaigning the hardest.

A senior Republican official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to disclose private deliberations, said Sunday that the Romney team was seriously discussing sending Romney, Ryan or both to Minnesota during the final week. The state hasn’t gone Republican in the presidential race since 1972, but recent polling shows a tighter race there than most anticipated.

In a flashback to the 2008 race, Obama’s campaign announced that Biden will campaign Thursday in Pennsylvania, reprising a visit to his hometown of Scranton that he made during the final week four years ago. Pennsylvania, too, has been Democratic territory in recent years, but Romney has continued to contest the state with an advertising assist from the Republican Party.

Axelrod and McDonnell spoke on CNN’s “State of the Union.” Warner spoke on “Fox News Sunday.”