Republican presidential candidate John Kasich will visit the University of Memphis on Friday at 6 p.m. Kasich who is currently polling 5th in the GOP primaries, hopes to win over voters at the U of M.
Republican presidential candidate John Kasich will visit the University of Memphis on Friday at 6 p.m.
Kasich, the governor of Ohio, will host a one-hour town hall style meeting at the University of Memphis Holiday Inn on Central Avenue. The meeting will take place in the central ballroom on the third floor and doors will open at 5:30 p.m.
Jon Harrison, 20, political science sophomore from Paris, Tennessee, plans to attend the meeting.
“I’ve never voted in a presidential election and I think all of this is cool,†Harrison said. “I don’t have any idea who I’ll vote for, but I like to be informed about all the possibilities before I go vote.â€
Kasich will be the third presidential candidate to visit the Mid-South during the 2016 presidential campaign. Democratic candidates Hilary Clinton visited Memphis in October last year and Bernie Sanders hosted a rally in November in West Memphis, Arkansas.
The town hall meeting is free and open to the public, but registration through the event’s website is required.
Kasich may not be the only Republican candidate to visit the Bluff City before November.
Louis Focht, president of the College Republicans, said in an email that Ben Carson may be visiting on Feb. 28, but he was uncertain.
Kasich found himself in a recent controversy after his comment on Monday that women “left their kitchens†for him in an early statehouse race. Clinton’s twitter page responded with “It’s 2016. A woman’s place is… wherever she wants to be.â€
Republican candidate Donald Trump is not scheduled to visit Memphis, but many supporters believe he will come, Terry Roland, Shelby County Commission chairman and honorary chairman for Trump’s West Tennessee operations, said.
“They’ll give me 48 hours notice. They will set up a venue. Then they’ll release it to me, and I’ll release it to the public,†Roland said about Trump’s possible visit.
Some students think the town hall meeting is a waste of time and have no plans to attend.
Jessie Powell, 21, senior English major from Tyler, Texas, said she will vote in November, but thinks the meeting is not worth going.
“I voted in the last election, but honestly they’re all liars so I don’t care what they say at these meetings,†Powell said. “I’ll vote, but I’m not going to waste my Friday night sitting and listening to a politician.â€
Others think the meeting will be a good way for students to learn about their country.
Terrance Lawson, 27, junior history major from Memphis, served in the navy for six years.
He wants students to learn about all the presidential candidates and ask questions when possible.
“Going back to college after serving in the military has showed me how uninformed students are about their country,†Lawson said. “Some of these 18-year-old students in my classes have no idea about anything that’s happening in the government.â€
Tennessee’s Republican and Democrat primary elections are on March 1 and the presidential election is on Nov. 8.
