Obama and Romney Hit the Trail After the Storm

By: Lynette Holloway | Posted: October 31, 2012 at 11:08 AM

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images News

President Barack Obama and Republican rival Mitt Romney returned to the campaign trail on Wednesday in preparation for Nov. 6 after spending a day focusing on the havoc wreaked by Hurricane Sandy in mid-Atlantic states, according to the Hill.

Mitt Romney and President Obama will re-emerge on the presidential trail on Wednesday, but in starkly different ways.

Romney will hold a trio of events in the swing state of Florida with prominent Republicans Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.) and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.

Obama will also appear with a prominent Republican: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who will be giving the president a tour of the damage in his state in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.

The president returns to the road on Thursday with campaign stops in Green Bay, Wis., Boulder, Colo., and Las Vegas, according to the Obama campaign.

The divergent paths underscore the challenge both campaigns have faced in recent days, trying to best balance the demands of a presidential race and the need to project the appropriate sensitivity as the Eastern Seaboard grapples with the aftermath of the catastrophic storm.

Beyond dealing with the devastation in his state, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has been doing battle with Atlantic City Mayor Lorenzo Langford, according to Today.

Atlantic City Mayor Lorenzo Langford escalated tensions with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie after the mayor said Tuesday he would welcome the chance "to confront the governor mano y mano" over how he handled the city's evacuation during Hurricane Sandy.

A day earlier, Christie had criticized Langford as a "rogue mayor" for supposedly encouraging residents to ride out the storm in designated shelters rather than leave the area entirely.

He told TODAY's Matt Lauer on Tuesday that Atlantic City residents received mixed messages from his executive order requiring everyone to evacuate and Langford's encouragement to take cover instead.

"I feel badly for the folks in Atlantic City who listened to him and sheltered in Atlantic City, and I guess my anger has turned to sympathy for those folks, and we're in the midst now of trying to go in and save them," Christie said.

Read more at the Hill and Today.

Like The Root on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.