Hillary Clinton to campaign in Johnstown Sunday; Bill visits Somerset today

By KIRK SWAUGER and MIKE FAHER
The Tribune-Democrat

SOMERSET April 18, 2008 08:39 am

— In a final push before Tuesday’s crucial primary election, both Bill and Hillary Clinton are scheduled to make local campaign stops.
Former President Clinton will speak in Somerset today, while Hillary Clinton – locked in a bitter battle for the Democratic presidential nomination – will appear Sunday in Johnstown as part of her last swing through Pennsylvania.
No time or place has yet been confirmed for Hillary Clinton’s Johnstown visit. Campaign spokeswoman Emily Cain said U.S. Rep. John Murtha, a party superdelegate who has endorsed Clinton, also will appear at the city event.
Bill Clinton is scheduled to deliver a “Solutions for America” address at 2 p.m. today at the Somerset Senior High School gymnasium, part of a a 17-stop, three-day tour throughout Pennsylvania that began Thursday.
The former president’s rally will not disrupt classes: Secondary students will be dismissed at 11:30 a.m., an hour earlier than normal based on early dismissals every-other Friday. Elementary classes will let out at 12:30 p.m., also an hour early, said Richard Whipkey, the school district’s business manager.
Bill Clinton’s speech is free to the public. Tickets are not required.
The public will be allowed to begin entering the gym by way of the auditorium starting at 1:30 p.m., school officials said. Due to construction and an expected increase in traffic around the school, the district is urging parents to be prepared for possible delays in school buses.
Though Republicans hold the majority in Somerset County, the Clinton campaign wants to strengthen its hold on a region where Hillary Clinton is perceived to have an edge over Democratic challenger Barack Obama.
“They are after every Democratic vote they can get,” said Somerset County Commissioner John Vatavuk, the county’s Democratic Party chairman.
Pennsylvania is considered a do-or-die state for Hillary Clinton leading up to the Democratic National Convention. A strong showing would provide her campaign with momentum; a close election or a loss would all but seal the nomination for Obama.
“Where this race stands now, Clinton is still holding to a 6-, 7-, 8-point lead,” said G. Terry Madonna, a political science professor at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster. “But she can’t afford to lose this, or it’s game over.”
Bill Clinton also will make campaign stops today at Robert Morris College in Moon Township, Allegheny County; Connellsville, Fayette County, and in Upper Dublin Senior High School in Fort Washington, Montgomery County.