Former President Bill Clinton to campaign for Harris in Butler County on Saturday
Former President Bill Clinton will be part of an event for the Harris-Walz campaign in Butler County on Saturday afternoon, Nov. 2.
The visit is part of a “Opportunity Economy event” the campaign is holding, with a stop in Erie the same day before he visits a volunteer appreciation event with the Steamfitters Local 449 in Jackson Township as part of get-out-the-vote efforts here in Butler County.
According to a news release from the Harris-Walz campaign, Clinton will be discussing policies surrounding lower costs and cutting taxes, as well as criticizing Republican presidential candidate, former President Donald Trump, and the Project 2025 agenda.
“With just three days until Election Day, speakers will underscore the contrast between the closing arguments for the two candidates,” the Harris-Walz campaign said in a news release.
Clinton last visited Butler County in 2008 when he stopped at the Rose E. Schneider Family YMCA in Cranberry Township to support former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, then a U.S. Senator, as she campaigned for the Democratic nomination for president which was won by then Sen. Barack Obama, who became president.
A Butler Eagle article detailing the April visit reported several hundred people came to hear Clinton’s discussion of his wife’s responses to core issues which included health care and fuel costs, reducing energy consumption and employment rates.
At least nine former presidents have visited Butler County. Trump has visited Butler County three times. In 1982, former President George H.W. Bush visited Penn Township for a fundraising event during his first term as vice president under former President Ronald Reagan. In October 1960, less than a month before the election, John F. Kennedy paid a visit to Butler County in the late stages of his campaign. Others included Woodrow Wilson, James Buchanan, James Garfield, William Howard Taft and George Washington
The Saturday event does not appear to be open to the public.
“I’m happy to see Bill Clinton come in to Butler, the more the merrier for us. It’s an important election and I’m sure he’ll enjoy Butler County,” said Butler County Commissioner Kevin Boozel.
The news release from the Harris-Walz campaign came in before local Democrats had time to find out about the visit.
“It’s good to want to bring attention to Democrats in Butler County,” said Catherine Lalonde, Butler County Democratic Committee chairwoman. “I think it’s positive that big name surrogates, drawing attention to the need for Democrats to vote.”
