COLUMBUS – The “A Team” of Democratic presidential campaign surrogates will sweep through Ohio as the number of states that could swing to either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump narrows to just a handful.
This article has been edited to include a Trump appearance in Columbus Thursday
The last two Democratic presidents – one of whom is married to the party’s nominee — will be rallying the party faithful in Columbus and other Ohio cities Thursday and Friday.
Republican nominee Donald Trump is scheduled to attend an invitation-only event in Columbus Thursday, according to The Columbus Dispatch, and lead an evening rally in downtown Cincinnati.
Polls indicate a see-saw race in the battleground state. No Republican has ever won the White House without winning Ohio.
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President Barack Obama will try to rev up Democrats in Columbus Thursday when he speaks at an annual dinner benefiting Ohio Democrats and former Gov. Ted Strickland, who is locked in what looks more and more like a losing battle for Republican Rob Portman’s Senate seat.
Tickets for the event at the Greater Columbus Convention Center start at $50 a seat but The Columbus Dispatch reports tables can go for as high as $4,000. The dinner attracts more than 1,000 people and is the Ohio Democratic Party’s largest fundraising event, state Democratic Chairman David Pepper said last week.
The next day Obama will hold a rally in Cleveland for Clinton, emphasizing early voting, which began Wednesday.
Before flying to Ohio, Obama will speak in Pittsburgh at the “White House Frontiers Conference.” Aides say he’ll announce new funding for technology and research and tout innovations like self-driving cars and artificial intelligence.
This week Obama entered the final 100 days of his presidency. He’s increasingly devoting his time to trying to push Clinton over the finish line in the presidential race.
Former president Bill Clinton (above right) will be at the Delaware County Fairgrounds Friday morning and in Cincinnati’s Washington Park in the afternoon.