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8/11/12
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(photo credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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Romney and Ryan address the overflow crowd outside
Estes Dining Hall at Randolph-Macon College. |
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(photo credit: Eric Thayer/The New York Times) |
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(photo credit: Joe Mahoney/Richmond Times-Dispatch) |
2012 Republican U.S. presidential candidate Mitt Romney and his vice-presidential running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan, held a rally on the campus of Randolph-Macon College on Saturday, August 11, 2012. This was a historic visit as supporters anxiously arrived to cheer Romney and Ryan, just hours after the highly anticipated announcement of the running mate. The overflowing crowd was estimated at nearly 5,000 with Crenshaw and Alumni Gyms filled to capacity and several hundred outside of the buildings. Supporters outside were excited when Romney and Ryan came outside to address them as well. Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell participated in the rally along with Lt. Governor Bill Bolling, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-7th), Republican U.S. Senate candidate George Allen, and several other Virginia Republican leaders. The R-MC stop was the second major rally for the "Romney Plan for a Stronger Middle Class” bus tour that also included a visit at Ashland’s Homemades by Suzanne restaurant. The event was covered by state, national and International media.
Randolph-Macon has been a frequent stop for candidates and legislators across the political spectrum. In 2012, Virginia Senator Mark Warner held a town hall meeting with students on campus to answer questions about the economy and current legislation before Congress. Warner also visited R-MC in 2008 to speak with students. In 2000, Green Party candidate Ralph Nader and his running mate, Winona LaDuke, held a rally with more than 700 participants inside the Brock Sports and Recreation Center. A most notable visit to R-MC was made by President William Taft in 1910. Taft stopped his train in Ashland to intercede on behalf of Randolph-Macon students who had been banned from attending a state championship football game to prevent them from missing an entire day of classes, a decision that was overturned after Taft’s support during his whistle-stop visit. The R-MC Yellow Jackets went on to defeat the Richmond Spiders to win the championship.