Posted on: Thursday, October 14, 2004

Lingle heading out on campaign trail for Bush

Advertiser Staff

After watching last night's presidential debate from a tent just outside the Arizona State University auditorium where the event was held, Gov. Linda Lingle was expected to accompany President Bush aboard Air Force One on a flight to a major GOP rally in Las Vegas today.

The stop in Las Vegas was expected to be the first of a two-day, five-city campaign tour to be sponsored by the Bush-Cheney re-election committee, according to Lenny Klompus, Lingle's senior communications adviser.

Lingle will be among about 20 of the 28 GOP governors in the country expected to attend the Las Vegas Convention Center rally, Klompus said. From there, Lingle is expected to travel to four other strategic campaign regions along with Ohio Gov. Bob Taft and Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, he said.

On the campaign trail for the trio will be Colorado Springs, Colo.; Cincinnati; Pittsburgh; Manchester, N.H.; and Portland, Maine, said Klompus, who is accompanying the governor through much of the trip.

Lingle had left her schedule for the next two days in the hands of the Bush-Cheney campaign. She was not told where she would be campaigning until shortly before last night's debate, Klompus said. Other groups of two to three GOP governors are making similar campaign stops on behalf of the president and vice president, Klompus said.