Mitt Romney staged his biggest rally of the campaign so far - 18,000-strong - in West Chester, Ohio, on Friday
The
US presidential election rivals are preparing for a crucial swing
through key battleground states that will determine who wins next
Tuesday.
Barack Obama campaigns in Ohio, Wisconsin, Iowa and Virginia
on Saturday, while Mitt Romney targets New Hampshire, Iowa and Colorado.Both candidates will visit the Iowa town of Dubuque within hours.
Opinion polls suggest the rivals are almost tied, although Mr Obama is slightly ahead in most swing states.
The BBC's Paul Adams in Washington says that, on the eve of the election, the pendulum appears to be moving towards Mr Obama, as the opinion polls are not shifting in Mr Romney's favour in enough battleground states.
Our correspondent adds that Mr Obama has arguably had the better of the past week, given Friday's moderately good news on the employment front and the wide praise of his handling of the aftermath of Storm Sandy. He also won the endorsement of independent New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Tipping point? Correspondents say Mr Romney has the tougher task for victory on Tuesday, as he must win a majority of the nine most keenly contested states.
But Mr Obama's opinion poll lead in all the swing states is within the margin of error and Tuesday's vote is likely to be close.
The election is run using an electoral college.
Each state is given a number of votes based on its population. The
candidate who wins 270 electoral college votes becomes president.Ohio is proving to be a tough battle and, with 18 college votes, could prove a tipping point.
Mr Obama begins his Saturday campaigning in the Ohio town of Mentor, while Mr Romney staged his biggest rally of the campaign so far - 18,000 people - in West Chester on Friday.
Mr Romney was joined by former primary rivals Rick Santorum and Rick Perry, as well as the defeated 2008 presidential candidate John McCain.
Mr Romney said: "We're almost home. One final push will get us there. The door to a brighter future is there, it's open, it's waiting for us."
The Republican, whose main manifesto pledges are lower taxes and a $500bn federal budget cut by 2012, said Friday's jobs report was actually a "sad reminder that the economy is at a virtual standstill".
Barack Obama has held mid-range
rallies so far but plans to increase the size over the weekend, when he
will be joined by former President Bill Clinton in Virginia on Saturday
and in New Hampshire on Sunday.
Mr Obama campaigned hard in Ohio on Friday, highlighting his
decision to bail out indebted US carmakers in 2009, a move that was
politically unpopular but which he says helped restore the industry.The president's manifesto sets out tax rises for the wealthy and more funding for job creation.
Mr Romney has tried to make inroads into Pennsylvania, where opinion polls suggest the Democrats lead by four to five points but which would be a crucial boost to his chances if he could secure its 20 college votes.
The Republican challenger has also wooed Michigan and Minnesota, forcing the Democrats into late advertising there.
Early voting has been a key focus of this presidential election - some 25 million voters have already cast ballots in 34 states and the District of Columbia.
Some states have released the affiliation of early voters, giving Mr Obama an edge in Florida, Iowa, Nevada, North Carolina and Ohio, while Mr Romney is favoured in Colorado.
However, the figures suggest Mr Obama does not have the lead he had over Mr McCain four years ago.
Nevertheless, the Obama team has released data showing that two-thirds of those who have voted early are women, young people, blacks and Hispanics - demographics the Democrats say favour them.
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