The heated contest to become the Democratic presidential nominee will come to Washington County Tuesday afternoon as the 42nd president of the United States seeks votes for his wife in her bid for the White House.
Former President Bill Clinton will make campaign stops for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in the Henry Memorial Gymnasium on the campus of Washington & Jefferson College followed by a stop at the Canonsburg Senior Citizen Center.
Clinton is expected to arrive at W&J about 1:30 p.m., coming directly from Pittsburgh International Airport, talk for 45 minutes to an hour before heading for a 2:45 p.m. visit to the senior citizens center, said state Rep. Tim Solobay, D-Canonsburg, in announcing the trip.
Doors to the gym will open at noon with the U.S. Secret Service screening those who enter the building. Solobay is looking for a crowd of about 3,000 people. In Canonsburg, the senior citizens center only can hold about 150 people. Solobay expects more of a meet-and-greet atmosphere.
Clinton's staff told Solobay that this is only the first of the visits planned for this area by family members.
"They told me that we'd be seeing a whole lot of Clintons from the senator to Bill and their daughter Chelsea over the next six weeks," Solobay said.
Solobay said that there are tentative plans for Sen. Clinton to make an appearance at the April 13 Democratic committee dance at Pepsi Roadhouse near Burgettstown.
"I expect we'll also be hearing from Sen. Barack Obama's staff in the coming weeks," Solobay said.
Washington County should play a key role in the race to become the nominee at the Democratic convention the last week of August in Denver, Colo.
"This area is the same sort of blue-collar communities like Ohio," Solobay said. "The Democratic party has always done well here."
Pennsylvania will be a key to getting the Democratic nod after all.
"We wanted to move the primary up to be part of Super Tuesday since we figured it would be all over by then," Solobay said of getting enough delegates to lock up the nomination. "But that was not the case. We ended up staying with the traditional April date, and we'll still be a major factor."
The mayors of the two Washington County communities agreed the visit shows how important this area is to the Democratic campaign. Both also expect to see Obama or his representatives in the next six weeks.
"This indicates the importance of a city like Washington in the upcoming election," said Washington Mayor Sonny Spossey. "The city's demographics matched with the aged population matches Clinton's strengths."
He also expects to see a visit from Obama or his representatives.
Canonsburg Mayor Anthony L. Colaizzo said the borough has never had a visit from a past president.
"We had a visit from FDR in 1932, but he was a candidate," Colaizzo said. "This is a plus for our community. We should be honored."
No information was available Sunday night on traffic restrictions. Washington police Chief J. Roger Blyth said he expects to hear something today. Colaizzo said that if Canonsburg police are needed for security, the Clinton campaign will be billed just as the John Kerry campaign was billed in 2004.
Clinton will continue on to Beaver County when he leaves Canonsburg.