Schwarzenegger Expected to Campaign for Bush in Ohio Before Election

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was expected to join President George W. Bush's campaign in Ohio the weekend of 29 October 2004, just days before the 2 November election, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Wednesday.

Aides to the governor told AFP the trip was "likely" but said no schedule had been announced. Schwarzenegger himself said a day earlier, "I have no plans" to go to Ohio, while separately pledging to appear with Bush if the president visited California.

Ohio was one of three fiercely contested swing states seen as decisive to the election outcome, along with Florida and Pennsylvania.

Schwarzenegger had addressed the Republican convention in New York in August but largely kept his distance from Bush during the campaign. The two men diverge sharply on several major issues: Schwarzenegger, governing a traditionally Democratic state, takes moderate positions on abortion, stem cell research, gun control, and gay rights, while Bush firmly opposes all four.

Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in October 2004, in its own words.