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Republican vice presidential candidate Mike Pence to hold rally in Marietta

MARIETTA — The presidential campaign is making a stop in southeastern Ohio.

Republican vice presidential candidate Mike Pence will be holding a rally Tuesday at Marietta High School. Doors open at 4 p.m. and the rally is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.

Tickets for the rally are free to the public and can be acquired through donaldjtrump.com.

Before running with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, Pence has served as the governor of Indiana since 2012.

According to Will Hampton, Superintendent of Marietta City Schools, the Trump/Pence campaign called over the weekend asking to make a visit to the local high school. The rally will be held in the high school gymnasium, with a seating capacity of 1,000.

Hampton said he expects a large crowd for the event.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a high turnout,” he said. “Right now politics is the thing to talk about.”

Leslie Haas, chair of the Washington County Republican Party, said she has been receiving messages non-stop since the rally was announced.

“I’ve had emails, text messages, Facebook messages, from people wanting to help and volunteer from the moment it was announced,” she said.

Haas said she has a full staff of volunteers already in place to help with the rally.

“We have about 20 volunteers that will do things such as help direct people, parking and media, and pass out signs,” she said.

Hampton said Marietta High School has hosted vice presidential candidates before and is excited to have the opportunity again.

“It is an opportunity for everyone to learn about the political candidate,” he said. “Whether you agree or not you (pay) attention and you learn about people’s positions because it’s right there in your front yard. You can reaffirm your beliefs or you can learn something new,” he said.

According to Hampton, MHS is by no means endorsing any candidate by holding the rally there.

Haas said she has had the opportunity to meet Pence before and is looking forward to hearing him speak again.

“He is a very kind and gentle, interesting, intelligent man,” said Haas. “I am excited to see him again.”

Haas said she hopes Pence takes the opportunity to address the nation’s public education system while at the high school.

“Given that he is going to a school, I would hope that he would take that opportunity to talk about public education in our nation,” Haas said. “There have been outspoken opponents of Common Core testing, and I believe he would speak about how they are detrimental to our school systems and how they are effecting our children.”

The weekend announcement of Pence’s visit wasn’t welcome news for everyone.

Washington County Democratic Party chair Willa O’Neill said in a press release that she believes that the Mid-Ohio Valley deserves better than Donald Trump and Mike Pence.

“Trump says he’s for coal miners but refuses to support legislation to provide much-needed health care for nearly 13,000 retirees (of the coal industry),” said O’Neill. “And Pence, an aggressive supporter of right-to-work, is no friend of working families.”

Haas said she expects protesters to make an appearance.

“I’m sure the Democrats will be coming out and waving their signs,” she said. “I don’t think it will be as bad as a reaction that Trump would bring.”

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