Friday, July 21, 2000
Bush plans public rally
By Patrick Crowley
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COVINGTON — Most times when a president or candidate for the office comes to Northern Kentucky it is to raise money, use the airport or attend a private event. Rarely is the public invited. But local residents will be more than welcome at the July 29 visit of Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush to Covington.
“This is going to be a public rally,” said Kenton County Republican Party Chairman Greg Shumate, a Villa Hills lawyer. “I anticipate a whole lot of enthusiasm and a good-size crowd.”
Details of the visit are still being worked out and probably won't be final until the middle of next week, he said, but it looks like the event will be held in Devou Park — either at the Ohio River overlook on the park's north end or at the band shell in the interior of the park.
An announcement about how and where to get tickets or admission will probably be announced next week, Mr. Shumate said.
Mr. Shumate is helping coordinate the visit along with Fort Wright resident Kelly White, the top Northern Kentucky aide to U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell.
Mr. Bush is stopping in five states the Republicans have not carried since 1988 — Kentucky, Ohio, Arkansas, Missouri and West Virginia. He calls them battleground states.
He will begin the tour July 28 by making stops in Springdale, Ark., and Joplin, Mo. He will fly to Owensboro, Ky., July 29 and then travel by bus to Louisville and Northern Kentucky.
He will spend the night in Cin cinnati and spend July 30 in the area before visiting Dayton, Ohio, and Columbus, Ohio, July 31. The final leg of the tour will be stops in Charleston, W.Va., and Harrisburg, Pa., on Aug. 1.
Mr. Bush is due to arrive in Philadelphia on Aug. 2, and formally accept the GOP nomination Aug. 3.
Republican party loyalists have shown their eagerness to embrace national political figures. For Bob Dole's 1996 presidential cam paign, about 1,200 people turned out for his rally at Thomas More College.
Damon Thayer, vice chairman of the Kentucky Republican Party, said Mr. Bush will “energize his base” of support with this visit, “because he knows that to win Kentucky in November, he must carry the 4th (Congressional) District and, in particular, Northern Kentucky, by a wide margin,” he said.
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