Obama skips Fla. visit to oversee response to Hurricane Sandy

President Obama will not attend his only scheduled campaign event Monday in Florida, instead returning to Washington, D.C., to help oversee the federal response to Hurricane Sandy.

Obama had been scheduled to deliver remarks with former President Clinton in Orlando, but early Monday morning the White House announced the president would skip his planned appearance.

"Due to deteriorating weather conditions in the Washington, DC area, the President will not attend today's campaign event in Orlando, Florida," said a statement from White House press secretary Jay Carney. "The President will return to the White House to monitor the preparations for and early response to Hurricane Sandy."

As of the announcement, Clinton was still scheduled to appear at the rally in the crucial swing state.

The oncoming storm has forced Obama and GOP candidate Mitt Romney to cancel campaign events in a number of swing states likely to be affected.

Both candidates scrapped events in Virginia over the weekend, with Romney instead heading to Ohio to campaign with his running mate Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.).

On Sunday, Obama met with officials at the Federal Emergency Management Agency for a briefing on the storm's progress and expressed confidence that the federal government would respond effectively.

Obama cautioned residents in the storm's path to take all necessary precautions, calling Sandy a "serious and big storm." 

"We don't yet know where it’s going to hit, where we're going to see the biggest impacts and that's exactly why it's so important for us to respond big and respond fast as local information starts coming in," Obama said. 

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