Small Ohio town welcomes presidential campaign 'whirlwind'

DEFIANCE, Ohio (WANE) - The 16,662 people of a small town in northwest Ohio are getting used to welcoming the whirlwind that is a stop on the presidential campaign trail.

A Republican candidate will visit Defiance, Ohio for the second general election season in a row.

A rally for former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney has been scheduled to take place on the high school football field Thursday evening.

“When you look at it from an educational standpoint, what a fantastic experience for young people to see a presidential candidate,” Defiance High School principal Robert Morton said. “[Students will] see the election process unfold before them; show them that their community is an important part.”

Defiance is home to a General Motors powertrain plant which employs more than 1,200 workers.  The northwest portion of the state of Ohio is generally considered a conservative segment, however democratic mayor Bob Armstrong called his city a ‘mixed bag.’

“I would say that the Republican Party is very strong and the Democratic Party is very strong.  Naturally, with a plant like General Motors here, you can imagine the union side of that issue [but] our small businesses being mostly republican creates a pretty good mix,” Armstrong said.

Regardless for the reasons the Romney camp was attracted to the city, Armstrong equated the atmosphere one week ahead of Election Day to be one of excitement.  Defiance is geographically mid-America but according to its mayor the community is on top of the world.

“How could I feel anything but, I guess.  When your city is national, when you get all the national write-up that we’ve gotten lately, it’s great,” Armstrong said.

Doors open to the rally at 5:15 p.m. Thursday.  The event is scheduled to begin at 7:15 p.m.