Obama cancels campaign events to monitor Hurricane Sandy
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President Obama is canceling some campaign events in Virginia and Colorado so he can monitor Hurricane Sandy during and after its expected landfall on the East Coast.
After a campaign event Monday in Youngstown, Ohio, Obama will return to the White House as states from the mid-Atlantic to New England braced for what forecasters called a massive storm, according to the White House. Obama plans to skip campaign events in northern Virginia on Monday and Colorado Springs on Tuesday.
GOP challenger Mitt Romney has canceled planned events in Virginia, and will head to Ohio instead. The monster storm, which could bring high winds and heavy rains from North Carolina to Maine, is complicating plans by both campaigns to turn out their voters in several battleground states.
INTERACTIVE: Battleground states map
The exact path of the hurricane is unclear, but it is predicted to be on a collision course with another storm system moving in from the west. The storm’s impact thus could extend hundreds of miles inland, including heavy snow.
Stephanie Cutter, deputy manager of the Obama campaign, said Obama changed his schedule so he could focus on preparations for the storm.
“He’s giving every resource he can to state and local partners,” Cutter said on ABC’s “This Week.”
Aides say Obama is getting regular updates on preparations for the storm, which is expected to make landfall late Monday or early Tuesday.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has deployed teams of workers and equipment along the eastern seaboard and is in contact with local and state emergency responders to help them prepare, federal officials say.
PHOTOS: President Obama’s past
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