BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — The top Democratic candidate and multiple Republican candidates will all be in Alabama this weekend to round out their campaigns before Super Tuesday.
The Clinton campaign will be at Miles College for a ‘Get Out the Vote Rally’ at 12:45 pm. Senator Ted Cruz will be in Montgomery at 5:30 pm at Blackfin Ameripub.
Then, Senator Marco Rubio will be at the Yellowhammer News Presidential Forum at 3:00 pm at the Wright Center on Samford University’s campus.
“We’re taking this seriously,” said Jared Small, Alabama State Director for the Marco Rubio Campaign. “We’re excited to be here, and I think it’s a very important state.”
Cliff Sims, CEO of Yellowhammer News, has been working on this event since September.
“I really think you get a sense of someone when you meet them in person and hear from them directly. It’s really become almost a reality TV show, running for president. It’s different when you meet them in person,” said Sims.
The Yellowhammer Presidential Forum sold out within a few hours of tickets becoming available. Organizers are asking people to arrive between 1:30-2:00 pm. They want people in their seats by 2:30 pm, and warn that parking and traffic could be a little crazy.
Meanwhile, at Miles College, the campus has been working on the event since the Clinton campaign contacted them–around 5:00 pm on Wednesday.
“Our students are extremely excited to engage the political process,” said the school’s president, George T. French Jr, “but in doing so–dealing with advance teams and Secretary Clinton’s staff and coordinating it with the Birmingham community..it has been quite an exciting task.”
Admission to the event at Miles College is first come first serve. The doors will open at 11:15 pm, and organizers are expecting to have around 2,000 people on campus. The main event will be held in the school’s gymnasium, which is about 1.5 blocks west of the school. French says there will be plenty of parking on campus, and that shuttles will be running to take people to the event. There will also be two overflow rooms with big screen televisions.
French also suggests that people avoid 59th Street, due to traffic.
Ben Carson, M.D. will be talking to AUM students in Montgomery on Monday, Feb. 29 at 5:30 p.m.
A press release for the event says it is student-driven and open only to AUM students, who must register to attend before noon Monday.
We’ll also be live streaming all the events this weekend on wiat.com.