WASHINGTON (AP):With an eye on the weather forecast, United States (US) President Barack Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney yesterday launched a 10-day sprint to the finish line in a contest increasingly about momentum versus math.

A huge hurricane barrelling towards the East Coast - and some battleground states - had both campaigns adjusting their travel schedules and cancelling events.

Even at this critical juncture of the campaign, neither side wanted to risk the appearance of putting politics ahead of public safety.

The president pressed on with a campaign trip to New Hampshire yesterday, while Romney was blitzing through Florida.

But an email announcing that Vice-President Joe Biden had cancelled a planed rally yesterday stated that the change was "being taken out of an abundance of caution to ensure that all local law enforcement and emergency management resources can stay focused on ensuring the safety of people who might be impacted by the storm".

Romney cancelled a rally in Virginia Beach that was planned for today, and aides said they were also considering scrapping two other events elsewhere in the state.

None of Obama's campaign stops had been cancelled, but he did adjust his travel schedule slightly.

The campaign moved up his planned Monday departure for Florida to beat the storm.

Ten days from Election Day, Obama and Romney are tied nationally. But the president still appears to have more pathways to reaching the required 270 Electoral College votes.