The Democratic candidate for vice president will be in Marietta Tuesday evening for a downtown campaign event, officials said Saturday.
Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware will speak at 7:15 p.m. in an outdoor rally in front of the former Ohio National Guard Armory on Front Street.
"We're the center of the universe, aren't we?" said Molly Varner, chairwoman of the Democratic Party in Washington County. "There is a guarantee that the vice president will have passed through Marietta, we just don't know if it will have been the Sunday candidate or the Tuesday candidate."
Biden's campaign stop in Marietta follows a pass through today by the Republican candidate for vice president, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, Sen. John McCain's running mate.
Few details of the Palin bus trip from Huntington to St. Clairesville were available on Saturday, other than speculation she might stop to stretch her legs or go through town without stopping.
"What I heard from the campaign as of 3 p.m. (on Saturday afternoon) is that she will be stopping somewhere for a coffee break," said Marilyn Ashcraft, chairwoman of the Washington County Republican Party. "She will stop at an undisclosed time at an undisclosed location."
Marietta Mayor Michael Mullen met with an advance team from the Barack Obama campaign on Friday. The campaign staff was looking for a suitable venue in Marietta for the speech, he said.
''We said we'd certainly try to make something available,'' Mullen said.
The armory was also the setting for a speech by vice presidential candidate John Edwards in 2004.
''They know that it works here,'' Mullen said.
Ashcraft said that southeastern Ohio, Washington County in particular, has gone from a majority of Republican voters to a majority of independent voters, making it an important part of a crucial swing state.
"They're all trying to cover this stretch of the state," she said. "They've been to the big (urban) areas over and over again, but none of them have been (to the) rural counties.... People in the big cities have already made up their minds."
Ohio is a key battleground state for Obama and McCain. Ohio has gone to the winning presidential candidate in the last 11 elections. Richard Nixon won Ohio in 1960, but Democrat John F. Kennedy won the election.
''It says southern Ohio is important,'' Mullen said of the two campaign visits.
The Biden rally also will showcase the city's efforts to renovate the armory and the Veterans Walk of Honor, Mullen said.
For security purposes, the area around the armory will be cordoned off, Varner said. The audience will be admitted through a gate where metal detectors will be used, she said.
The area will open around 5:30 p.m., Varner said.
Mullen, a Democrat, also will perform at the Biden rally with his band, the Moon Band. Mullen's nickname is ''Moon.''
''We'll play a few tunes to get the crowd warmed up,'' Mullen said. ''It will be the kind of southern Ohio music that represents these hills and hollows.''
Biden's campaign rally will be free and open to the public and will not require a ticket, but spectators are encouraged to RSVP online at oh.barackobama.com. A release from the Obama campaign said that space is available on a first-come, first-serve basis.
