Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney brings his Ohio bus tour to Vandalia today, as the campaigns continue to match visit with visit in a state that could decide the presidency.

GOP Vice Presidential nominee Paul Ryan flew into Dayton International Airport Monday morning to start the bus tour and the Democratic National Committee’s anti-Romney bus tour also made a stop in Dayton. Meanwhile, President Barack Obama will be in northern Ohio on Wednesday, campaigning in Bowling Green, Toledo and Kent. Romney also will campaign in Columbus on Wednesday.

Romney and Ryan today will stop first in Cincinnati before appearing at an outdoor rally at Wright Brothers Aero, 3700 McCauley Drive, at the Dayton airport. Doors open at noon for the 2:30 p.m. event, with speeches starting at 3 p.m. U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., will also appear at the rally, advertised as a continuation of the “Romney Plan For a Stronger Middle Class Bus Tour,” where the candidates will discuss their “plan for a real recovery.”

Democrats plan to dog Romney and Ryan during the tour, with former Gov. Ted Strickland coming to Dayton Monday as part of the Democratic National Committee’s “Mitt Romney: Writing Off the Middle Class” bus tour. The focus is on Romney’s secretly recorded remarks at a Florida fundraiser criticizing 47 percent of Americans Romney said don’t pay taxes and are dependent on the government.

“You’ve heard Mr. Romney basically talk in the most disdainful way about nearly half of all Americans,” Strickland said at the news conference outside Montgomery County Democratic Party headquarters.

He said those people include retired senior citizens, veterans, students trying to better themselves and working people who have fallen on hard times.

“I really believe that what Mr. Romney said about the 47 percent was not an inelegantly stated sentiment,” said Strickland. “I think he revealed to the American people what’s in his heart. And I believe he looks down his nose at people who do not occupy his economic and social standing.”

Veteran Richard Baird, 85, of Kettering and retired autoworker Ted Williams, 64, of Dayton, also spoke at the news conference.

“I would like to tell Mitt Romney I am not a freeloader,” said Williams, who retired from General Motors. “I worked hard every day for years. I paid Social Security and Medicare for decades. Mitt Romney’s offensive comments show his true colors: callous indifference to millions of hardworking Americans.”

Romney spokesman Christopher Maloney said it is not surprising the Obama campaign is using Strickland to campaign, considering the jobs lost in Ohio during his tenure, which ended after he was unseated by Republican John Kasich in November 2010.

“Much like Ted Strickland Barack Obama’s term has come to be defined by his own failure to fix the economy, change government and live up to the promises he made to middle class Ohio families,” Maloney said.

Because of traffic and security issues, attendees at today’s Romney/Ryan rally are encouraged to come early. Those arriving via I-75 can take the Northwoods Boulevard exit (Exit 64), go west off the ramp, turn right on Dixie Drive, then left on McCauley.

Vandalia police Lt. Harry Busse said there will be some brief road closures immediately before and after the rally as candidate motorcades arrive and depart.

All attendees will go through airport-like security and should bring as few personal items as possible. No bags, sharp objects, umbrellas, liquids or signs will be allowed in the venue. Cameras are permitted.

Ryan, the congressman from Wisconsin, launched the bus tour by flying into Dayton on a DC-9 bearing the words “Believe in America.” He did not take questions, immediately boarding a bus bound for Lima emblazoned with “Romney-Ryan” and “More jobs, more take-home pay.”

In Lima, Ryan said Obama’s attempt to cut military spending is putting Americans at risk overseas.