Obama to visit areas hit by Hurricane Isaac

President Obama will visit Louisiana on Monday to survey the damage done by Hurricane Isaac, the White House announced Friday.

Obama will “meet with local officials and view ongoing response and recovery efforts to Hurricane Isaac,” the White House said.

The announcement comes after Mitt Romney’s campaign said the Republican nominee for president would travel to Louisiana.

White House press secretary Jay Carney said the decision to go to Louisiana had been made before Romney announced his trip.

{mosads}The respective visits by both Romney and Obama come two days after Isaac, which previously had been graded as a strong tropical storm, reached hurricane status. 

Isaac initially hit the U.S. coast just as the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., was getting under way. Events on the first day of the convention were canceled because of the storm. 

On Wednesday, President Obama signed a disaster declaration for Louisiana making federal relief funds available to help people in the storm’s path.

The president had been slated to first attend a campaign event in Ohio on Monday but Obama’s reelection campaign announced that the trip to Cleveland had been canceled in light of his trip to Louisiana.

Obama and Vice President Joe Biden embark on separate “Road to Charlotte” tours Saturday through seven swing states aimed at winning over middle-class voters. The other campaign stops are currently scheduled to continue as planned.

—This story was last updated at 2:09 p.m. 

Jon Easley contributed reporting.