Romney, Obama power into final weekend

US President Barack Obama and Republican foe Mitt Romney today power into a final weekend of campaigning before handing their fates to voters after a bitter, gruelling White House race.

US President Barack Obama and Republican foe Mitt Romney on Saturday power into a final weekend of campaigning before handing their fates to voters after a bitter, gruelling White House race.

The rivals will chase one another through the battleground states that will decide Tuesday's election, with Obama seeking to solidify his midwestern line of defense, while Romney seeks an eleventh hour breakthrough.

Obama will campaign in Ohio, the possible tipping point state, before heading to Wisconsin and Iowa, his trio of "firewall" battlegrounds ahead of a late night rally in Virginia, where he still hopes for an insurance win.

Romney, fresh from the biggest rally of his campaign, which drew around 18,000 people on a cold night in West Chester, Ohio, Friday will travel to New Hampshire, Iowa and Colorado.

In a show of close combat on the last weekend of the campaign, both candidates will be in the eastern Iowa town of Dubuque, within hours of one another.

A combination photo shows Mitt Romney at a rally in West Allis, Wisconsin and Barack Obama speaking at campaign rally at Springfield High School in Springfield, Ohio. AFP

Mitt Romney speaks at a campaign rally in Etna, Ohio. Reuters