(CNN) - In a sign that President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign is entering a new phase of more direct voter outreach, the president will hit the road in his first bus tour of the general election campaign.
A campaign official confirmed Wednesday the president will take part in a two-day bus trip next week, beginning July 5, in western Pennsylvania and northern Ohio.
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Not only are both states battleground territory this November, but the bus tour's path is also home to many working class voters, one of the major groups both campaigns are trying to attract.
The campaign will start to include a wider variety of public events with the aim to give the president more exposure to voters.
Fund-raisers, however, will still be a key part of the schedule as Team Obama fights to stay financially even with the Republican effort to elect rival Mitt Romney. On Tuesday, Obama's campaign sent out a fund-raising email warning supporters that he will "be the first president in modern history to be outspent in his re-election campaign, if things continue as they have so far."
Romney had his own bus tour earlier this month, hitting Pennsylvania and Ohio, as well as Iowa, Michigan, New Hampshire and Wisconsin.
The Obama campaign announcement comes the same day as a new Quinnipiac University survey indicates Obama with a slight edge over Romney in the two states on the bus tour. In Pennsylvania, Obama leads Romney 45%-39%, and in Ohio, the Democratic incumbent is ahead 47%-38%, according to the poll.
CNN's Electoral Map rates Ohio as a toss-up state and Pennsylvania as a state that leans in favor of Obama.
Also see:
McCaskill to skip Democratic convention
Poll: Obama, Romney race still tight
From CNN Politics
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My fellow Dems, let us all make this election be a fight we never had before. Remember what counts is not the size of the dog in the fight, BUT it is the size of the fight in the dog!
I guess it's cheaper than Air Force 1.
How much will this opportunity to lie and deceive the American people cost the taxpayers?
these states need, manufacturing jobs. for the first time in decades manufacturing jobs are coming back to our shores, thanks to obama, who is empowering the spenders, and pushing up demand. there is a air of modernization flowing in the air. and companies all over the world are justling for the best position to get a piece of this pie. this means jobs jobs jobs. the repubs see this and is getting the americans the american people more gullible than ever. just because theyve got 65 percent of all the white folks on their side, including the 1 percenters with all the money and all the power. all obama has, are the students, spanish and black voters, and some holiwood backers. the repubs owns all the power in this country. this is why every thing they push seems to catch power, no matter how rediculous it is.
will the childish Romney-bots be in tow ready to scream out while he's talking? I expect the crowds to be bigger and MUCH MORE diverse than the 99.9% white, 75% over 50 years old, and 25% educated crowds that inhabit the purity-rallies held by Flip and his Goebbels-led propaganda events
You are your own secret weapon Mr. President!
When you get your mesage out there you CONNECT with the people.
You have a plan to continue to improve our country, whereas your wannabe opponent doesn't even have a clue. All he's got is money. But money won't buy him voter confidence, genuineness, empathy, nor viable ideas.
Go get 'em Fired up, and Ready to go Barack!!!
Obama 2012.
Make sure and remind people how you are saving money on the bus tour because fuel prices have come down so much..........don't hear the republicans " blaming" you for that.....they are not" blaming" you for the rise in home prices either!!! Looks like thoughtful long term policies...the few approved by congress anyway are working!!! Let the people know by the end of your second term we the working/middle class will have fully recovered from the era of self regulation implemented by the preceding administration ....the same policies a businessman would have us return to!!!
I find it interesting how the media picks and chooses the poll results on a certain day. There are so many poll results out there, it would be better to average them out to see what is really happening.