Mitt Romney and Barack Obama courted veterans on Thursday in the battleground state of Virginia, appearing in communities that illustrate the state's heavy military presence and its reliance on defense spending for jobs.

For the second-straight day, the pair campaigned in the same battleground state. Obama stopped near Virginia Beach while Romney spoke at a rally in Springfield, just down the road from the Pentagon. The two were in Ohio on Wednesday.

Obama and Romney spent time in Virginia appealing to veterans and those connected with the defense industry as crucial voter groups in the state with 13 electoral votes that usually trends Republican but went for Obama last time. It currently gives Obama a narrow lead in polls.

Virginia weathered the overall economic downturn better than most other states, partly due to its strong military association and contracting links. But cities and towns are now nervous about uncertainty surrounding defense spending in an era of soaring deficits.

Virginia would be hit hard if steep proposed budget cuts aimed at reducing federal red ink take hold next year absent a deal by Congress to forestall or soften them. The state could lose more than 130,000 jobs if a spending deal is not reached, according to an industry study by George Mason University in July.

Describing the cuts as a "gun-to-your-head" approach originally proposed by the White House and passed by Congress, the Republican nominee told a "Veterans for Romney" event that the impact on Virginia would be "devastating."

Review military spending

He also cautioned the world was too "dangerous" to chip away at U.S. military power.

"I want a military so strong, nobody wants to test it," Romney said, evoking the words that underpinned Ronald Reagan's defense buildup in the 1980s - "peace through strength."

Romney said he would review excess military spending to make the Defense Department more efficient and add 100,000 active duty service members. He also pledged to use the money saved in the defense budget to care for veterans.