Sandy stalls U.S. presidential campaign Obama returned early to Washington after canceling his appearance at a campaign event Orlando, Florida due to Hurricane Sandy. WASHINGTON, Oct. 30 (UPI) -- Campaigning took a timeout Tuesday as President Obama monitored the response to post-tropical Cyclone Sandy and Mitt Romney held a storm relief event in Ohio. Obama held a conference call in the White House Situation Room with governors and mayors from areas affected by the storm and told them he has directed government officials to do whatever must be done to get help to people as quickly as possible -- with "no bureaucracy. The president visited the American Red Cross headquarters in Washington, where he cautioned the storm "isn't over yet" and told those affected by the storm, "America is with you." The White House said Obama -- who called off campaigning with former President Bill Clinton Monday to return to Washington from Florida -- will not take part in campaign events scheduled for Wednesday in Ohio, but will travel to New Jersey, where he and Gov. Chris Christie are to inspect damage, talk with people affected by the storm and meet with first responders. At an event in Kettering, Ohio, near Dayton -- attended by former NASCAR driver Richard Petty and country music singer Randy Owen -- Romney urged supporters Tuesday to help those affected by the storm and helped gather donations. Romney campaigned most of Monday but canceled an evening event in Wisconsin "out of sensitivity" to those pummeled by Sandy, his campaign said. The campaign said he will resume campaigning Wednesday, with rallies in Tampa, Coral Gables and Jacksonville, Fla. The campaign said GOP vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan will campaign Wednesday in Eau Claire, Green Bay and Racine, Wis. The campaign said Ryan would visit two Romney campaign centers in La Crosse and Hudson, Wis., Tuesday to "thank volunteers who are delivering or collecting items for storm relief efforts." Biden Tuesday recorded some radio interviews and was scheduled to travel from Ohio to Sarasota, Fla., where he was to spend the night, the White House said. "Assuming things continue as they are, we're going to resume our schedule in Florida as scheduled tomorrow," he told reporters. "We are all hands on deck," he said of the administration's response to Sandy. He said the federal, state and local effort is "working like it's supposed to. FEMA has been reorganized. It's doing one helluva a job. Even though the campaign was ostensibly suspended, politics was nevertheless in play. After Christie offered generous praise to Obama in interviews Tuesday for the handling of the storm disaster, he responded sharply when he was asked on Fox News whether Romney would come to New Jersey to inspect the damage with him. "I have no idea, nor am I the least bit concerned or interested," Christie said. I've got a job to do here in New Jersey that's much bigger than presidential politics, and I could care less about any of that stuff. I have a job to do. I've got devastation on the [Jersey] Shore. Early voting proceeded unabated in the swing states of Ohio and Florida, which weren't directly in the storm's path.