Republican leaders say they plan to distribute at least 35,000 free tickets to the event at Voice of America Park in Butler County, a Republican stronghold in this battleground state.

"Our goal is to make this the largest rally he's ever been to. If we can get 50,000 people out, then that's our goal," said Scott Owens, Butler County Republican Party executive director.

Bush drew his largest Ohio crowd when 22,000 came out in Troy last month, before the GOP convention, said Kevin Madden, Ohio spokesman for the Bush-Cheney campaign.

His biggest campaign rally so far was 32,500 in Missouri after the convention, U.S. Rep. John Boehner, R-West Chester Township, said.

"We've set some lofty goals," Boehner said. "Southwestern Ohio is very important to the president's reelection, and we want to show the president how much we think of him."

TICKET LOCATIONS

Free tickets for President Bush's Monday afternoon rally at Voice of America Park in West Chester Township are available at these locations: Cincinnati: Bush campaign headquarters, 108 E. Seventh St. Hours: 8 a.m.-7 p.m. today; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday; noon-5 p.m. Sunday. Phone: 621-3420. West Chester Township: U.S. Rep. John Boehner's campaign headquarters, 7908 Cincinnati-Dayton Road. Hours: 9 a.m.-7 p.m. today; noon-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Phone: 779-8435. Fairfield: Butler County Republican Party headquarters, 4783 Dixie Highway. Hours: 9 a.m.-7 p.m. today; noon-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Phone:893-5292. Middletown: Middletown Republican Party headquarters, 2226 Central Ave. Hours: 9 a.m.-7 p.m. today; noon-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Phone: (513) 705-6472. Lebanon: A recreational vehicle parked at Henkle-Schueler & Bunnellhill Construction, 3000 Henkle Drive. Hours: 10 a.m.-7 p.m. today. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday; noon-5 p.m. Sunday. No phone. Miamisburg: Bush campaign headquarters, 23 S. Alex Road. Hours: 9 a.m.-7 p.m. today; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday; noon-5 p.m. Sunday. Phone: (937) 866-1446.

After arriving by bus from Springfield, the president will speak in front of the World War II-era Voice of America station, which transmitted pro-democracy broadcasts from 1944 to 1994. The 330 flat, grassy acres became a township park in 1997.

Although details haven't officially been confirmed, gates will open at 1 p.m. for the rally and close at 3:30 p.m., according to the tickets being distributed Thursday.

"For 50 years, the Voice of America played a central role in helping spread freedom around the world - although I'm not writing the president's speech," said Boehner, who suggested the location to Karl Rove, Bush's chief strategist.

The Bush-Cheney campaign liked the location on Tylersville Road because of its proximity to Interstates 75, 71 and 275, convenient to residents of Hamilton, Butler, Warren, Clermont and Montgomery counties, said Carlos Todd, Butler County Republican Party chairman.

The rally comes as polls show Bush with momentum in what has been considered the top battleground state in the nation. A flurry of polls since the Republican National Convention has indicated growing leads for Bush in Ohio.

A study out Thursday from the Center for Public Integrity also found that Wisconsin, Iowa, and Florida are now the top states for ad spending by the independent groups known as "527s."

"Although Ohio has long been called ground zero for the presidential election, other Midwestern states appear to be key targets for independent political groups seeking to influence the race," the center's Derek Willis wrote.

Sen. John Kerry canceled a speech in Columbus Thursday. Ohio spokeswoman Jennifer Palmieri said that was because he's having throat problems and needs to rest his voice.

"You don't get to read from this he's dropping out of Ohio," she said. In fact, he met with the Columbus Dispatch editorial board and planned to attend a homeland-security event, but not do much talking.

Paul Tipps, former state Democratic Party chairman, said proof that the battle for Ohio is not over was the fact that the president's father was in Columbus and his wife was in Cincinnati on Thursday.

First lady Laura Bush attended a $5,000-a-person fund-raiser at the home of lawyer Robert Coletti. It was expected to raise $550,000 for the Republican National Committee, according to the RNC. Coletti, 47, a lawyer at Keating, Muething and Klekamp, did not return calls for this story.

Republican-rich Southwestern Ohio has been targeted by the Bush campaign as a key area for winning Ohio's 20 electoral votes, Todd said.

"They are concentrating tremendously on these four counties in Southwestern Ohio to make up the difference in what they lose to the Democrats in Cuyahoga County," Owens said.

Butler County Republicans, who control all countywide offices and legislative seats, have been aggressively registering new voters. Todd estimated that 14,000 of the county's 21,000 new voters are Republicans.

Registered Democrats are outnumbered almost 2-1 in Butler County, 41,000 to 22,000. Most of the 163,000 independents vote Republican, Owens said.

News that the president was coming created a steady flow of people into three Republican Party offices to pick up rally tickets.

"This is phenomenal. When are we ever going to be closer to a place to see the president of the United States?" said Donna Morris of West Chester Township, who will take her grandchildren to see the president.

Kimberly Caplinger, also of West Chester Township, held six tickets for her family and friends. She plans to take her 8-year-old son out of Liberty Elementary School early Monday.

"I think it will be much more educational for him," Caplinger said. "This is an important, historic event to have the president in our neighborhood."

Todd expressed his frustration that the Bush campaign had not officially announced details of the visit yet, for security reasons.

"If we had more press on this, we could get 100,000 people out there," Todd said. "That place is so big. It can hold as many people as can show up."

E-mail jkiesewetter@enquirer.com, cweiser@enquirer.com.