Mike Pence set to keynote Macomb GOP dinner
Republican vice presidential hopeful Mike Pence is set to rally Macomb County Republicans at a mid-October fundraising dinner, party officials said this week.
Pence, the governor of Indiana and running mate of presidential candidate Donald Trump, is expected to keynote the Macomb County Republican Party Lincoln Day Dinner on Oct. 17.
Chairwoman Linda Torp announced the visit Monday night as Macomb Republicans watched Trump take on Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton during their first presidential debate.
Two other sources familiar with the plans said the local party has already begun selling tickets, although a time has not been finalized for the event, set for The Palazzo Grande banquet hall in Shelby Township
Trump’s Michigan campaign was not immediately able to confirm the Pence visit, which would come just three weeks and one day before voters decide the presidential election on Nov. 8.
Tickets to the dinner are expected to cost $60 per person or $550 for a party of 10. VIP tickets begin at $175, and the party will also offer more expensive host and sponsor packages.
Pence’s wife, Karen Pence, is expected to attend a fundraising luncheon the same day in Bloomfield Hills, said Trump state campaign co-chair Lena Epstein, who is hosting that event.
While Michigan has not elected a Republican presidential candidate since 1988, the Trump campaign has spent considerable time in the state since securing the GOP nomination, beginning with a late July stop by Pence.
Trump is scheduled to campaign in Michigan this Friday, his fifth visit of the general election cycle.
Clinton is deploying several surrogates to Michigan this week, including Chelsea Clinton, the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Anne Holton, the wife of vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine. Former President Bill Clinton was scheduled to attend a voter registration event Tuesday south of the Michigan border in Toledo, Ohio.
Pence and Kaine are scheduled to debate Tuesday, Oct. 4, at Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia.
joosting@detroitnews.com
Staff Writers Charlie Ramirez and Chad Livengood contributed