Romney in Marion, Ohio, Sunday (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)MANSFIELD, Ohio—With just eight days to go before Election Day, President Barack Obama and GOP challenger Mitt Romney are facing perhaps a worst-case October surprise scenario: a potentially deadly storm, disrupting campaigns at a time polls have many battleground states in a dead heat.
The superstorm, picking up speed and force--and expected to hit the swing states of New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio and Virgina--will impact a number of politically-related events, from campaign appearances and fundraising to media coverage.
For Romney, it could dent his building momentum. Crowds have never been bigger—29,000 at three rallies in Florida on Saturday and another 10,000 during a bus tour of rural Ohio on Sunday.
Publicly, Romney aides insist they aren't focusing on the political impact of the hurricane—noting that the candidate is focused on the "safety and well-being of those in the path" of the storm.
"It doesn't make sense to handicap how a storm impacts the campaign when, first, the safety and security of the people in areas potentially affected by the storm is paramount," Kevin Madden, a Romney senior adviser, told Yahoo News.
Hurricane Sandy however, has already put a wrench in Romney's schedule. On Sunday, the candidate was forced to reschedule a day of campaigning in Virginia—including three stops in the battleground state's biggest media markets. And the campaign postponed a rally in New Hampshire scheduled for Tuesday amid worries the candidate wouldn't be able to fly back to the East Coast.
Even the candidate's Boston headquarters could be impacted by outer bands of the storm, which is now moving toward the Midwest and another state Romney desperately needs to win on Election Day: Ohio. And then there's the wider impact on the candidate's TV advertising and media coverage of his events, all of which could be overshadowed by Sandy in coming days.
The storm is also proving to be as equally disruptive to President Barack Obama's schedule. The Democrat had been scheduled to campaign with former President Bill Clinton in Florida and Ohio Monday. Over the weekend, Obama cancelled his trip to Ohio--instead sending Vice President Joe Biden in his place--and flew out of Washington, D.C., to Orlando, Fla., early to beat the storm. But on Monday, Obama scrapped that event too--and headed back to D.C.. Campaign aides and much of the White House press corps are stuck in Florida.
The president's decision to scrap his Orlando rally brought the total number of cancelled or rescheduled events between the Romney and Obama campaigns to nearly 20. That includes rallies and events held by campaign surrogates like Ann Romney, who cancelled a planned swing through New Hampshire and instead flew to Michigan, and Biden, who cancelled his own swing through the Granite State and instead traveled to Ohio.
The Romney campaign has quickly offered its own storm response. It announced it was collecting food and other supplies at its offices in New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Virginia, which would later be transported on the Romney campaign bus to those in need.
And like Obama, Romney posted messages on Twitter and Facebook, and sent an email to his supporters urging them to make donations to the Red Cross and to take safety precautions—among them, moving campaign signs indoors.
"In high winds they can be dangerous, and cause damage to homes and property," Romney wrote.
Romney aides said the campaign would suspend its fundraising emails to states affected by the storm. But the campaign continued to focus on its "get out the vote" operations in key states, especially Ohio, where Romney and his running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan, have been doubling down on efforts to turn out the early vote amid expectations of chaos at the polls on Election Day.
But the biggest test for Romney could be his message: Does he continue to hammer Obama at a time when the country is more focused on the impact of a historically significant storm?
On Sunday, Romney didn't let up on Obama during his bus tour of tiny Ohio towns, casting his Democratic rival as someone who has been focused on "smaller and smaller things" instead of focusing on the "big challenges" that face the country.
He made just one fleeting reference to the impending storm, telling supporters at a college athletic complex in Findlay, Ohio, to pray for those in the path of the storm--and that came after reporters repeatedly inquired if the candidate would publicly speak about the storm.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the people who will find themselves in harm's way," Romney said.
It's unclear if Romney's schedule will be further impacted by the storm. On Monday, he's set to campaign through rain-soaked Ohio before traveling to Iowa and Wisconsin. He's expected to travel back to Ohio and then back to Iowa on Tuesday before heading to Florida on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Obama has canceled his visit to Wisconsin on Tuesday, and his travel schedule is in flux for the rest of the week.
Olivier Knox contributed to this report from Orlando, Florida.
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