Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have set out on the final, frenzied two-month stretch of the US presidential contest with a series of campaign stops in Ohio, a battleground state that has for decades sided with the White House winner.
In a symbol of the state's importance, Clinton's and Trump's planes at one point sat side-by-side on the tarmac in Cleveland, though the nominees did not cross paths.
Leading into the Labor Day holiday, which kicks off the last stretch of campaigning for the November 8 election, Trump saw a strengthening in opinion poll numbers, putting pressure on the heavily favored Clinton.
Clinton, traveling with her press corps for the first time on a new plane emblazoned with her campaign slogan, said she had enjoyed the "last moment before the mad dash" to the finish line. The Democratic candidate said she was "more than ready" for the next nine weeks.
Her Republican rival invited his press corps to accompany him on the short flight from Cleveland to Youngstown - also the first time his reporters flew with him - and took several questions en route.
While most polls show Trump trailing Clinton in many battleground states where the election will likely be decided - including in Ohio - he has drawn close to even with her in some national polls and even inched ahead in others.
The most recent Reuters/Ipsos poll on Friday showed Trump had the support of 40% of likely voters to 39% for Clinton, erasing her recent eight-point lead.
Trump, along with his vice presidential nominee, Indiana Governor Mike Pence, attended a Cleveland area meeting with labour leaders and union members before heading to a state fair in the Youngstown area.
Clinton, accompanied by her running mate, US Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, stopped at a Cleveland brewery before heading to a Labor Day parade and festival.
"It's kind of interesting to have all the planes here on the same tarmac. It just shows you how important Ohio is," Kaine said of the side-by-side planes in Cleveland.
TRUMP'S REBOUND
Trump's rebound from a series of self-inflicted wounds has followed the hiring of a new campaign management team, and the Republican nominee is showing more discipline on the stump, reading his rally speeches from teleprompters.
The billionaire businessman has been helped by what his campaign said was a positive week last week in which he made a quick trip to Mexico, appearing side by side with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and visited a black church in Detroit.
An immigration speech Trump gave following his trip to Mexico, however, drew criticism from some of his Hispanic supporters, and several backers advising him on the issue decided to part ways with his campaign.
Trump told reporters on the way to Youngstown that the criticism of the speech had more to do with the crowd's enthusiasm for addressing illegal immigration than his policy positions.
"Some people totally loved it, thought it was the best. Other people thought it was tough, but actually to a certain extent it was the enthusiasm of the crowd," Trump said.
Clinton, who was President Barack Obama's first-term secretary of state, appeared at few public campaign events during the latter half of August, instead raising funds at high-dollar events in the East Coast vacation spots of Martha's Vineyard and the Hamptons, and with celebrities in Los Angeles and high-tech leaders in Silicon Valley.
Clinton's campaign announced that it had raised $US143 million ($195 million) in August for her presidential bid and the Democratic Party.
Clinton is again on the defensive over her use of a private email server and possible conflicts of interest with her family foundation while secretary of state, which have caused unease for some voters. But experts still see the Democratic nominee as the odds-on favorite to win the presidency.
