Barack Obama and John McCain headed into the final weekend of the presidential campaign focused tightly on the economy.
Mr Obama is looking to expand his base while Mr McCain is fighting to hold what were previously Republican bastions.
Mr McCain was in Ohio, telling voters he feels their economic pain and hoping to lay claim to its 20 electoral votes. Aides say the campaign believes he probably has to win Ohio to be elected, and they did not rule out returning to the state before voting begins on Tuesday.
Mr McCain was campaigning in Hanoverton, and then in Columbus with Californian governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Mr Obama spent the day on a campaign rush across the Midwest, with a quick stop home in Chicago to see his family. He makes his first stop back where his run began, in Des Moines, Iowa, where he upset Hillary Clinton in the first electoral test of the year.
Independent polling in Iowa shows Mr Obama consistently ahead in the race for the state's seven electoral votes, but Mr McCain's campaign maintains the race is actually tighter than it appears.
After stopping at home for Halloween, Mr Obama will head for a rally in Gary, Indiana, where Republicans are dominant but polls show the race tight.
Sprinting into the weekend, Mr Obama will go West, hoping to claim Colorado and maybe more. Mr McCain will fly to Virginia, usually friendly country for the Republicans but another place where polls give Mr Obama the edge. McCain aides said the Arizona senator was likely to swing West also, to play to his base. A recent poll from Mr McCain's home state showed the two candidates in a statistical dead heat.
There was nothing complicated about their closing arguments to voters, with the economy the top concern. Mr Obama focused on linking Mr McCain to an unpopular President Bush and blaming them both for the nation's economic woes.
"John McCain has been right next to George Bush," Mr Obama argued. "He's been sitting there in the passenger seat ready to take over every step of the way."
