Obama to visit Ames next week

Katelynn Mccollough

President Barack Obama will be making a stop in Ames on Tuesday, Aug. 28, which is coming just shortly after his three-day bus tour in Iowa last week.

In February 2007, Obama visited Iowa State’s campus and spoke to an estimated crowd of 6,000 people at Hilton Coliseum, but back then he traveled with the title of senator.

Annette Hacker, program director of university relations, was unable to confirm any details on the presidential visit, including whether or not his trip to Ames will involve a stop at Iowa State.

Michael Glawe, field organizer for the Obama for America campaign, was also not yet able to confirm any details on the visit, including what time it will take place.

There is no word yet on what Obama will be speaking on as he continues campaigning before the Nov. 6 elections. His stop at the University of Iowa in April focused on the “investment” in higher education and in keeping tuition costs and interest rates low on student loans.

Steffen Schmidt, university professor of political science at Iowa State, has previously said in an April interview with the Daily that the state of Iowa is a “battleground,” and this is the cause for the high number of visits from both Obama and Romney.

Schmidt said Iowa is “one of a half-dozen [states] or so that could swing either to the Democrat or the Republican in November.”

Obama has visited the Hawkeye State several times since U of I, making it a major campaign stop and focusing on important topics for the upcoming elections such as the economy.

Iowa State may offer Obama a strong youth vote, just as it did in the previous elections.

According to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, 15 percent of caucus voters in 2008 were between the ages of 17 and 24, compared to the 5 percent that voted in 2004, making the youth vote a major asset to the Obama campaign.

The center’s statistics also show that 87 percent of Democrats who were voting for the first time in the 2008 caucuses were between the ages of 17 and 24.

The campaign stop in Ames will come on the second day of the GOP national convention in Florida and a week before the beginning of the Democratic national convention in North Carolina.

Obama will also be making a stop in Fort Collins, Colo., on Tuesday, Aug. 28 and then head to Charlottesville, Va., on Wednesday, Aug. 29.

The president then will return Iowa on Saturday, Sept. 1 when he stops by Des Moines.

Check back to the Daily webpage for more details as they are released at iowastatedaily.net.