WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is ramping up a fresh phase of his re-election bid with a bus tour next week, focusing more on direct engagement with voters and less on ritzy fundraisers.

 

A campaign official says Obama's two-day road trip through Pennsylvania and Ohio kicks off July 5. The visit to the key battleground states will be the president's first bus tour of the 2012 campaign.

 

Obama's efforts thus far have focused largely on hauling in cash from supporters in dozens of fundraising events across the country as his campaign seeks to compete with energized Republican donors. He spent two days this week on a four-state fundraising blitz that brought in more than $5 million.

 

The official spoke about the bus tour ahead of the official announcement on condition of anonymity