MARIETTA - As presidential, state, county and local candidates make their final push before Election Day on Tuesday, the economy, unemployment, the weather and more weigh on the minds of voters - and campaigners.
With 72 campaigning hours lost because of the angry tear Hurricane Sandy made across the mid-Atlantic states, President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney have seemingly gone into scramble mode to complete their final politicking.
Obama is scheduled to make campaign stops in Colorado, Iowa, Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and New Hampshire in the coming days.
Marietta resident Sharon Farnsworth, who volunteers at the Democratic Campaign Headquarters in Marietta, had four long days ahead of her as she helped Obama get out the vote in Washington County at door to door canvassing events over the weekend.
In the final days leading to the election, Farnsworth estimated she'll volunteer "at least 48 hours, probably longer." But that doesn't daunt Farnsworth's passion to see her candidate elected.
"The excitement will build until Tuesday and then we'll be exhausted," she said.
Romney supporters also want their supporters to make their votes count.
"We're pushing every voter out there to vote," said Izzy Santa, Romney campaign spokeswoman. "We need to get our supporters to vote this weekend or Election Day."
A sprint to the election wire in Ohio is indicative of Ohio's importance as a battleground state, Santa added.
"Ohio is a microcosm of the nation. We need Ohio to vote for Romney and Ryan to make sure we win the White House," said Santa.
New Hampshire, Florida, Virginia, Wisconsin, Iowa, Colorado and Ohio are the locations for Romney's final pre-election campaign blitz.
Marietta was playing a role in the final electioneering, with Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan taking part Saturday in a rally at Marietta College's Dyson Baudo Recreation Center.
"It's a needed, terrific boost to the energy and morale of volunteers and voters alike," said Leslie Haas, chairwoman of the Washington County Republican Party.
Josh Mandel, Ohio State treasurer and candidate for U.S. Senate, attended Saturday's rally with Ryan and traveled to western Ohio later that day to do a bus tour with House Speaker John Boehner to boost GOP turnout. On Sunday, he attended Romney's rally at the I-X Center in Cleveland.
Ohio state Senator Lou Gentile, D-Steubenville, is scrambling to make a final effort to reach out to voters.
"We're moving at a very fast pace, covering as much ground as we can between now and Tuesday," he said.
On Election Day, Gentile will be in Washington County.
Noting his record as an effective legislator, Gentile pointed to his success in amending an Ohio energy bill to "promote the use of Ohio's skilled workforce in the oil and gas industry," as well as promoting small Ohio businesses that provide goods and services for the industry.
"I'm also passionate and concerned about education," he added. "I want to see our part of Ohio get its fair share of school funding."
Over the weekend in Washington County, local candidates and teams of county Republican volunteers have been manning phone banks, shaking hands and knocking on doors, said Haas.
Washington County Democratic Party Chairwoman Molly Varner said candidates and volunteers this weekend were making "quite a bit of get-out-the-vote effort in the county." As the party's faithful went door to door they had a handout with the slate of Democratic candidates, she added.
"We hope we can make some impressions about the rest of the Democratic candidates with local government efforts," Varner said.
Early voting continues at the Washington County Courthouse through today.
As of 3:45 p.m. Friday, the Washington County Board of Elections had received 9,376 requests to vote absentee or do early voting, according to Tara Hupp, board director.
The board had received back 8,319 ballots, she added.
Of the 9,376 requests to vote absentee, 3,960 voted in the courthouse office, 5,169 voted by mail, 91 were hand carried out of the office; 93 were done via nursing homes; and 63 were sent electronically to military members in the U.S. or abroad and overseas voters, according to Hupp.
Courthouse voting hours for early voting are 8 a.m.-2 p.m. today.
Election Day weather looks promising locally. Tuesday's forecast calls for a high of 54, with partly cloudy skies and a 20 percent chance of precipitation.
