U.S. Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney is headed to his party's national convention where his wife Ann and his supporters are set to make their case to voters why he should replace President Barack Obama as the American leader.

Mr. Romney left Tuesday for the host city of Tampa, Florida, to witness his wife's primetime television speech to the Republican National Convention. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie closes the night with his keynote address.

Party officials are hoping Mrs. Romney's speech will show a more personal side of Romney than the image the Obama campaign has painted of him as a capitalist who has little connection with everyday Americans and their economic concerns. Meanwhile, Christie is expected to pinpoint what Republicans see as the significant failures of Mr. Obama's White House tenure over the last three and a half years.

Tuesday is the first full day of the Republican convention, with most events cancelled Monday as Tropical Storm Isaac skirted Florida's western coastline. Convention planners are still watching the storm's path as it heads toward the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico for a possible landfall late Tuesday or early Wednesday in Louisiana.

Romney aide Russ Schriefer told reporters in Tampa the campaign is concerned about the people in the path of the storm and may revise the convention's schedule again.

The Republican governor of Louisiana, Bobby Jindal, canceled his planned convention speech, saying he was staying home to deal with the prospect of Isaac hitting his state.

A Washington Post opinion poll published Monday shows President Obama, the Democratic incumbent, and Mr. Romney in a tight race for the November 6 presidential election. It says Mr. Romney has the support of 47 percent of likely voters, compared to 46 percent for Mr. Obama — little changed from early July's figures.

Mr. Obama is spending Tuesday and Wednesday campaigning in college towns in Iowa, Colorado and Virginia. The Democrats hold their convention next week.