RYAN SCOTT OTTNEY
PDT Staff Writer
CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts and presumptive Republican nominee for President of the United States, will make a campaign stop in Chillicothe on Aug. 14.
“We’re very excited about it. We’ve been asking for this for a long time, and we’re delighted that the campaign has decided to bring him here,” said Ross County Republican Party Chairperson Diane Carnes.
The “Romney Plan for a Stronger Middle Class” bus tour will stop at the Ross County Courthouse, located at 2 North Paint St., in Chillicothe, on Tuesday, Aug. 14. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the event begins at 7 p.m. General admission tickets are free, and are available online at romneyinchillicothe.eventbrite.com. Tickets are also available at the Ross County Republican Party headquarters located at 129 East Main St., in Chillicothe, or by calling Carnes at 740-703-0138.
“We expect a large crowd and we hope that some people from Scioto County will be coming,” Carnes said. “Nobody is going to be turned away. We’ll get you in there somehow.”
Though the Republican Party delegates will not officially declare their nominee until the Republican National Convention on Aug. 27, in Tampa, Fla., Romney became the presumptive nominee after winning the Texas primary on May 29. Speakers scheduled to appear at the RNC include Ohio Gov. John Kasich.
Romney has not yet announced a running-mate to challenge the presumptive Democratic ticket — incumbent President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden. Just a few of the many names frequently suggested as possible choices for Romney have included Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, and Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin.
Although Ohio has lost two electoral votes since the 2008 election (from 20 to 18), it is still largely considered a battleground state vital to a presidential-win. The state has sided with both parties throughout history, and typically as goes Ohio so goes the nation. Ohio supported Obama in 2008, Bush in 2000 and 2004, Clinton in 1992 and 1996, and every winning presidential candidate back to Lyndon Johnson in 1964. Scioto County voters also sided with the state of Ohio in every election since 1932, until 2008 when the county finally ended its 76-year streak to support Sen. John McCain over Obama.
Carnes said the most important issue in the coming election is going to be jobs.
“It would be nice if they would look at what I still call the atomic plant, that would help all of us here so very much. It’s about the economy and getting the small businessman back on his feet,” she said.
Chris Maloney, director of media communications for the Romney Ohio Campaign, could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.
Ryan Scott Ottney can be reached at 740-353-3101, ext. 235, or rottney@heartlandpublications.com.
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