(Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney largely avoided politics on Tuesday as the monster storm Sandy cast an unpredictable pall over the race for the White House with just a week to go until Election Day.
With President Barack Obama off the campaign trail and at the White House monitoring relief efforts, Romney faced the challenge of appearing presidential without showing insensitivity to millions of Americans affected by the storm.
An event in Kettering, Ohio, that was originally intended as a campaign event featuring U.S. Senator John McCain, the 2008 Republican presidential nominee, was hastily converted into a "storm relief event" with Romney making remarks urging Americans to show generosity in helping the East Coast.
"We have heavy hearts this morning with all the suffering going on in a major part of our country," Romney told several hundred people, many of whom came with grocery bags of canned goods and other items that will be shipped to the East Coast.
Romney, who is battling to win the key swing state of Ohio in the November 6 election, said he had spoken to some of the governors in the affected areas "and they talked about a lot of people having hard times."
Sandy made landfall in New Jersey on Monday night, leaving behind a trail of flooded homes, toppled trees and downed power lines in the nation's most densely populated region. At least 18 people were reported killed along the eastern seaboard.
Looking at the various goods brought in by people, Romney said: "It's part of the American spirit, the American way to give to people who are in need and your generosity this morning touches my heart," he said.
