Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul is expected to visit Vancouver on Thursday for a political rally.
The rally is scheduled for 3 to 7 p.m. at the Vancouver Convention Center, and Paul is planning to speak from 4 to 5 p.m., said Katja Delavar, Southwest Washington regional director for Paul’s campaign.
The event is free and open to the public. The convention center is located at the Hilton Vancouver Washington, 301 W. Sixth St.
Paul, a Congressman from Texas and a libertarian, advocates for limited, constitutional government. He is running against former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and Rick Santorum, a former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania.
The rally is tentative and subject to change, according to Paul’s campaign. Check http://www.columbian.com on Wednesday for updates.
In April 2008, Paul’s highly organized supporters swamped the Clark County Republican Convention, winning 71 of 89 delegate seats to the state convention. In the 2008 race, two of three delegates and two of three alternates to the national convention from Southwest Washington’s 3rd Congressional District pledged to Paul. Arizona Sen. John McCain won the party’s nomination.
Paul isn’t the only presidential hopeful focusing efforts on the Evergreen State. Santorum visited Olympia on Monday, the same day Gov. Chris Gregoire signed a bill into law that allows same-sex couples to marry.
As of Tuesday, nearly 100 people already planned to attend Paul’s Vancouver visit, according to the Facebook.com page created for the event.
Stevie Mathieu: 360-735-4523 or stevie.mathieu@columbian.com or www.facebook.com/reportermathieu or www.twitter.com/col_politics
