Rui @ White House 2004

Bush in Miami today. Photo by Rui Ferreira

Candidates hit Ohio, Florida on pre-election Sunday

(CNN) -- The presidential candidates began a 48-hour sprint to Election Day on Sunday, kicking off the day's battleground tours of Ohio, New Hampshire and Florida.

Democratic nominee Sen. John Kerry began with remarks at a predominantly African-American church in Dayton, Ohio, while President Bush started with a rally in Miami, Florida.

Kerry talked about choices in the election to an audience of more than 1,000 worshippers at the Shiloh Baptist Church, Reuters news service reported. "It is a choice about what kind of country and society we'll have."

In Miami, Bush spoke both Spanish and English to his audience, which included many Cuban-Americans and opponents of the regime of Cuban leader Fidel Castro.

"Over the next four years we will continue to press hard and insure that the gift of freedom finally reaches the men and women of Cuba," Bush said, provoking loud applause and chants of "Viva Bush!"

The president is to remain in Florida for much of Sunday, with three campaign stops as part of his effort to win the state's 27 electoral votes. (Electoral College)

In 2000, the Sunshine State clinched the election for Bush, after a month of recounts and court challenges. (Showdown states: Iowa, Ohio, Minnesota, Florida)

Bush's second Florida appearance Sunday was in Tampa. Bush is to make his third stop in the battleground state in Gainesville, before ending the day in Cincinnati, Ohio, where the Bush campaign is hoping to head off any gains in Kerry's popularity.

From Ohio, Kerry follows on Sunday a route to New Hampshire and finally in Florida, where a rally is set for Tampa on Sunday night, just a few hours after Bush was scheduled to depart. (CNN.com's Candidate Tracker)

Far to the west, in Hawaii, as polls showed the presidential race there getting closer, Vice President Dick Cheney was scheduled to campaign Sunday in the Aloha State. He follows on the heals of former Vice President Al Gore, who attended pro-Kerry rallies there on Friday, appealing for Hawaii's four electoral votes. Both Hawaii and New Hampshire have four valuable electoral votes. (Showdown state New Hampshire)

On Saturday, the presidential candidates again devoted their attention to voters in key battleground states, pushing their domestic agendas and underscoring their strategies to fight terrorism.

Kerry spent the morning in the showdown states of Wisconsin and Iowa before landing in Warren, Ohio. Kerry has made more than 20 visits to the state since March. Polls show him gaining on President Bush, though the race between the two candidates remains too close to call.

During the Ohio rally, Kerry urged voters to remember the importance of their choice Tuesday.

"Join with me on Tuesday and we'll change the direction of America," Kerry said to the crowd. "You get to hold Bush accountable for the last four years and set this country on the right track."

He also used the issue of national security to say that what he called Bush's mismanagement of the war on terror has put the United States and its troops at risk.

"I will wage a smarter, tougher war on terrorism," he said. "I will make America safer."

The comments were made in the wake of two videotapes that were broadcast this week -- one from al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden -- threatening to unleash more terror attacks against the United States. Neither candidate mentioned the tapes in their speeches. (Full story)

Bush spent Saturday morning traveling across the Midwest and ended his campaign appearances in Orlando, Florida. He currently has a lead in the polls over Kerry. (CNN.com's Poll Tracker)

During his speeches, Bush highlighted his record as a wartime president and said a steady leader is needed in the war on terror.

"The terrorists that killed thousands of people are still dangerous and ready to strike," he said at a rally in Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin, early in the day.

He called his opponent indecisive and said Kerry lacked the resolve needed to lead the nation during a perilous time.

"Whether you agree with me or disagree with me, you know where I stand, you know what I believe," Bush said.

Bush began the day with a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he urged supporters to go to the polls Tuesday and presented his case that he was best-suited to protect Americans. (Showdown state Michigan)

"During the last 20 years in key moments of challenge and decision, Senator Kerry has chosen the path of weakness and inaction. With that record he stands in opposition not just to me but to the great tradition of the Democratic Party," Bush said.

Kerry told a crowd in Appleton that all Americans -- Republicans and Democrats -- were united in their determination to kill bin Laden and hunt down terrorists, whom he described as "barbarians."

He said Bush was wrong to divert troops from Afghanistan and rush to war in Iraq.

"I will use all of the power that we have and all of the leadership, the leadership skill that I can summon -- and that is, believe me, more than what we have today," Kerry said. "I will lead the world in fighting a smarter, more effective, tougher, more strategic war on terror, and we will make America safer."

He repeated his assertion that Bush let bin Laden escape by using Afghan forces instead of American troops against al Qaeda in Afghanistan's Tora Bora region in the fall of 2001.

The White House has disputed that contention, and the man who commanded U.S. forces in Afghanistan at the time, retired Gen. Tommy Franks, has said it "does not square with reality."

Franks, a Bush supporter, has said that U.S. special forces played an active role at Tora Bora and that intelligence at the time placed bin Laden in any of several countries.

Both candidates have appeared in Wisconsin about a dozen times since March. In 2000, then-Vice President Al Gore edged out Bush in the state by 5,708 votes.

From Wisconsin, the two campaigns diverged, returning to other states being contested by the parties.