Kirk Jowers, head of the University of Utah's Hinckley Institute of Politics and a longtime Romney supporter, said the storm has put Romney in a difficult situation.
"The president gets to act presidential and he gets the free 'earned' media. Romney is forced to sit out the storm," Jowers said. "In a perfect world, there would be no perfect storm a week before the election."
Jowers said the storm is impacting early voting, important for both campaigns because it is expected to account for some 40 percent of the ballots cast in the presidential race.
"There's a lot of conventional wisdom, but the fact is it can and will hurt both candidates," he said of the storm.
Just how the candidates are being affected by the storm, however, won't be clear until pollsters return to the field.
It's not clear when the polling postponed in the wake of the storm will resume, but Jowers said if voters view the president more favorably as a result of how he has handled the disaster, that's going to be a problem for Romney to overcome.
Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, a key surrogate for Romney, said he expects the campaign to be in full swing again by the weekend
Chaffetz, set to hit the road for Romney in several swing states later this week, said he isn't changing the campaign speech he delivers as a result of the storm.
"You feel for the people who are going through suffering and heartache," the congressman said, noting that he has several relatives hit hard by the storm. "But the election is still about jobs and the economy and our future."
University of South Florida political professor Susan McManus said voters expect the campaigns to continue with Election Day so near. Both Obama and Romney have been sending their running mates and other surrogates to campaign events.
"It's really unrealistic, and I don't think the average American expects them to put their campaigns on hold," she said. "I'd have to say both of them have found the right balance so far."
E-mail: lisa@desnews.com
Twitter: dnewspolitics
DeseretNews.com encourages a civil dialogue among its readers. We welcome your thoughtful comments.
— About comments
Lisa Riley Roche covers politics for the Deseret News/KSL news division, producing content for the newspaper, the TV and radio stations, and both deseretnews.com and ksl.com. She has been a reporter for more than 25 years, more ..
- Provo couple killed in RV accident near St....
- Police were watching, listening to Josh and...
- Man charged with killing Ogden officer found...
- 'More questions than answers' as charges...
- Davis County honor student arrested in deaths...
- Susan Powell's father wants help searching...
- Parents of Sandy Hook victim, Emilie Parker,...
- Common Core State Standards attract...
Subscribe
Mobile
RSS
- Chaffetz not willing to take...
71 - Man charged with killing Ogden officer... 39
- S.L. draws up airport plans 33
- Couples registry gets preliminary nod... 29
- 'We're here to serve all boys,' Utah... 23
- Search for Susan Cox Powell is over,... 21
- Gov. Gary Herbert tells Washington... 17
- $2.6B needed for Utah to reach... 17
Pure speculation. Similar to the speculation that the last debate would slow Mitt's momentum. In fact as more and more people hear about Benghazi, Obama sinks ever lower in the polls.
Sandy brought attention to two of Romney's weaknesses. He advocated that FEMA be abolished and was in favor of states acting on their own initiative. He also dismisses any threat or consequence of gloabal warming. But there is still a week More..
This is what is not being reported. Mitt Romney has asked people to donate to the Red Cross instead of his campaign to help people out. has Obama done that? I don't think so? I may be wrong on that matter. But Mitt is showing forth his true grit More..