By , ,
Published December 23, 2015
President Obama will go on his first campaign bus tour, hitting Pennsylvania and Ohio next week.
The tour, first reported by the Associated Press, notes a turn in his campaign style, which has been mostly consisted of holding large rallies at university-type venues and raising campaign cash.
Going on a bus is expected to give him a more intimate setting so he can hear more directly from voters and interact with them more closely.
The bus in particular allows him to go into more rural areas where planes and quick motorcade rides on typical trips are unable to take him. He first did the bus tour last August in the Midwest, going on a speaking and listening tour about jobs and the economy after nasty battle with Republicans over the U.S. potentially defaulting on its loan.
Back then the press dubbed the large armored black vehicle he took as "Ground Force One" or "Bus Force One." He then did a fall tour through North Carolina and Virginia, also battleground states.
The two states he picked this time around is also of note. Ohio is long considered a must-win for him, a critical swing state that the president has focused on through his presidency with more than 20 visits there.
The choice of Pennsylvania though underscores that it might be more up for grabs than the campaign initially thought, given they were touting Democratic voter registration there.
There are 38 electoral votes between the two states.
Obama embarks on the tour just after the 4th of July holiday, and will be on tour on Friday, July 6 when the June monthly jobs numbers come out.
The monthly job numbers are always a key talking point for both sides of the aisle, and the May numbers were a devastating figure, with the figure rising to 8.2 percent.
Northern Ohio and Western Pennsylvania are expected to be his targeted areas, the AP reported.
Fox News' Chief White House Correspondent Ed Henry contributed to this report.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/president-obama-plans-first-2012-campaign-bus-tour