Hundreds of Kenyon students got an up-close view of the 2016 presidential campaign when Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine visited Gambier on Thursday, Oct. 27.
Senator Kaine stopped at the Kenyon Athletic Center as part of a get-out-the-vote rally coordinated by the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, which rented the facility. Kenyon College was not a sponsor of the event.
Kaine drew cheers when kicking off his speech with a shout-out to a childhood friend who went to Kenyon and graduated in the class of 1980. “He has always talked his entire life about how special this place is,” Kaine said.
In his speech, Kaine addressed the importance of voting, Clinton’s economic platform and his party’s plans for making higher education more accessible nationwide.
“Education is about individuals, but it’s also about society,” Kaine said.
Kaine noted the importance of Ohio in presidential elections, calling it a “checkmate state.” The state has seen numerous visits from campaign surrogates for both Clinton and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in recent weeks.