Obama had been updated on the powerful storm throughout the night and had spoken to governors and mayors in the New York City metro region, which was hardest hit, a White House official said. One of those calls produced a rare moment of praise from an unusual source: New Jersey's Gov. Chris Christie (R), normally a harsh critic of Obama, said the president's handling of the disaster has been "outstanding.''
"The federal government's response has been great,'' Christie, who had been the keynote speaker at the Republican convention in August, said Tuesday morning on NBC's "Today.'' "I was on the phone at midnight again last night with the president; personally, he has expedited the designation of New Jersey as a major disaster area."
On Wednesday, the president will travel to New Jersey to meet Christie and to survey the damage and discuss recovery efforts.
Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney has also canceled events and attended what his campaign billed as a storm relief event Tuesday morning in Ohio to help collect donations for victims. The event held the trappings of a campaign rally: A large American flag was draped above the stage; the music was the same as at a typical Romney rally; and a video biography of the candidate played on television screens.
Romney's running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan, was expected to thank volunteers in his home state of Wisconsin on Tuesday. A statement released by the Romney campaign was mostly devoid of politics "out of sensitivity to those in the storm's path."
With the tightly fought campaign mostly on hold for the two candidates, it remained unclear how the politics would play out just a week before Election Day. The White House announced that Obama would not participate in campaign events scheduled for Wednesday in Ohio. At the same time, the Obama campaign continued dispatching key surrogates to battleground around the country, with President Bill Clinton campaigning Tuesday in Colorado and Vice President Biden scheduled to travel to Wisconsin for campaign events on Friday.
The president's decision to focus on the crisis could help him at the polls. Yet if the storm has a significant impact on early voting — a key part of his campaign strategy — that could depress turnout by Obama's supporters.
Officials said voting had been brisk in key areas of Ohio on Monday, perhaps the most critical state, though a bit slower than usual Tuesday morning in Cleveland's Cuyahoga County, where Democrats are counting on a large turnout.
In Virginia, another battleground state and one heavily affected by the storm, most polling places were open for in-person absentee voting, but some remained shuttered in vote-rich Northern Virginia. That is a potential disadvantage for Obama, who swept the region four years ago and won a sizable margin in absentee voting.
Also unclear on Tuesday was the storm's potential impact on Election Day. White House Press Secretary Jay Carney was asked on Monday aboard Air Force One if Obama had the power to delay the vote, and he declined to answer. But it appeared that any delays would be up to individual states that may still be suffering from extensive power outages.
By federal law, presidential elections must be held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Election laws also stipulate that if a state fails to hold elections on the appointed date, "the electors may be appointed on a subsequent day in such a manner as the legislature of such State may direct."
Officials at the Federal Emergency Management Agency have said they stand ready to help states make sure people can get to the polls but that the federal government would take its cues from the states. Virginia state officials have made clear that the election will proceed on Tuesday, no matter the storm damage.
Staff writers Felicia Sonmez, Rosalind S. Helderman and Laura Vozzella contributed to this report.
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