Hurricane Sandy is playing havoc with the U.S. presidential election campaign.

As the massive storm barreled toward the East Coast of the U.S., both President Barack Obama, the Democratic incumbent, and his Republican challenger, wealthy businessman Mitt Romney, cancelled some of their scheduled rallies.

Mr. Obama returned to Washington to oversee the country's emergency preparations in advance of the center of the storm coming ashore.

He cancelled a campaign event in Florida on Sunday as well as planned campaign stops Monday in the mid-Atlantic state of Virginia, one of eight states that political analysts say will decide the November 6 election and a state that could be heavily impacted by the storm. The president also called off Tuesday's stops in Colorado and Wisconsin.

Mr. Romney also called off campaign appearances in Virginia. But he planned to continue campaigning Monday in two battleground Midwestern states away from the storm — Ohio and Iowa. He cancelled a night-time rally in Wisconsin, as well as his Tuesday appearances.