WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama is canceling a third straight day of campaigning because of the superstorm that battered the East Coast.

The White House says the president will not attend events scheduled Wednesday in swing state Ohio. He will remain in Washington to monitor the storm and the federal response.

Obama had already canceled events Monday and Tuesday to be at the White House during the storm.

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WASHINGTON -- The havoc unleashed by Superstorm Sandy is bringing an unnerving pause to the presidential campaigning as President Barack Obama and rival Mitt Romney adjust the breakneck pace of the contest's final days to the anxieties and emergency demands sweeping the Eastern Seaboard.

Both men and their running mates canceled campaign rallies for Tuesday, eager not to appear out of sync with more immediate worries over flooding, power outages and personal safety.

The fierce storm was overwhelming politics. It struck at the heart of the nation's financial district with a massive surge of seawater in New York City. Millions were left without power as the deadly storm whipped its way through presidential battlegrounds like North Carolina, Virginia and New Hampshire.