COLUMBUS – It’s a presidential election year and in Ohio that means, if you don’t see a candidate right now, just wait and one will be along shortly.
Donald Trump has scheduled a campaign stop in Ohio a little over 24 hours after his rival appeared in the key swing state.
Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, is shoring up support in Appalachia with a swing through coal country Tuesday. He will deliver a speech on trade at Alumnisource in Monessen, Pa., in the afternoon and heads to the eastern campus of Ohio University in St. Clairsville for an evening rally.
Unionized mine workers of Murray Energy, headquartered in St. Clairsville, plan a ratification vote Tuesday on a 5-year contract announced last week. Murray’s spokesman said the events are unrelated.
Hillary Clinton, Trump’s Democratic rival, was criticized for a reference to mine workers being put out of work in a renewable energy economy. Her campaign has said the comment was taken out of context.
Clinton (right) has visited Ohio three times this month, including Columbus last Tuesday and was joined by Sen. Elizabeth Warren in Cincinnati Monday.
With Sen. Bernie Sanders fading from the spotlight, Warren is stepping up to reclaim her role as leader of the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. She’s mobilizing her forces behind Clinton, lending her presidential bid a powerful boost of liberal credibility.
“She has a good heart,” Warren said of Clinton. “And that’s what America needs, and that’s why I’m with her.”
For Clinton, the visit offers an opportunity to win back some of the liberal and younger voters she lost to Sanders in the primary season.
The two women have formed a tight electoral alliance, one that could grow even closer should Warren be selected as Clinton’s running mate.
Clinton told the Cincinnati crowd that Warren knows how to get under Trump’s “very thin skin.”
Warren is currently being vetted by lawyers charged with running the vice presidential process. They’ve already asked her to complete a questionnaire and for documents.
Ohio Republican Party chair Matt Borges says “a Clinton-Warren ticket reeks of complete insincerity.”