Sarah Palin is coming back to Lancaster County.

The Republican candidate for vice president will speak at a rally at Clipper Magazine Stadium sometime Saturday morning, local campaign officials confirmed today.

Tickets will be available between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. Thursday and Friday at GOP headquarters, 902 Columbia Ave.

"Sarah's coming Saturday morning at the Clip," County Commissioner Scott Martin said, adding that the exact time should be decided before the first tickets are handed out Thursday.

Martin and State Rep. Katie True, who co-chair John McCain's campaign in Lancaster County, and GOP Chairman Dave Dumeyer said they were ecstatic the Alaska governor was returning for a second rally here in just over a month.

"She'll get everyone fired up, and that's a good thing right before the election," True said. "It shows the campaign is alive and well in Pennsylvania."

"She's a good conservative and I think that plays very well here," Dumeyer said. "She will have an audience very willing to listen to what she has to say."

True said Palin is coming because the McCain campaign wants a larger margin of victory in the county than George W. Bush's nearly 2-to-1 showing in 2004 over John Kerry.

"Lancaster of course is very key to Pennsylvania," True said.

Recent polls conclude Barack Obama is leading in Pennsylvania, but True said she senses the race is closer than in the polls.

McCain's campaign "is not conceding Pennsylvania by any stretch of imagination," she said, adding that voter fatigue from long primary and general election campaigns may be skewing poll results.

Democrats try to say Palin is "weak on the issues" and "not up to par," True said, but she disagrees.

Palin carries herself well, is articulate and has a very strong energy message, True said. The candidate is also proving to be a fast learner in national politics since accepting the GOP vice-president nomination.

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SARAH PALIN VISIT

When: Saturday morning.
Where: Clipper Magazine Stadium.
What: Rally for McCain-Palin team.
Tickets: Available 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday and Friday at GOP headquarters, 902 Columbia Ave.

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The East Hempfield Republican said she thinks Palin will deliver a "good strong positive message" at the rally.

"That is what voters want to hear," True said. "She just needs to be herself. When she's herself, she's very good."

Dumeyer said that he wouldn't be surprised if Palin raises the question of where Barack Obama stands on tax policies and his "close association with ACORN" in her speech.

The Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now has been accused of voter registration fraud.

Some details about Saturday's rally in the 6,000-seat home of the Lancaster Barnstormers are not yet known.

Martin said an early report that the rally could start at 10:30 a.m. was not set in stone. The start time and also when doors will open should be known before the first tickets are handed out Thursday morning, he added.

Dumeyer said tickets cannot be reserved over the phone.

"You have to come in and pick them up," he said.

He added that he also has 1,000 tickets to hand out for a McCain rally set for Thursday at noon at the United Sports Training Center in Downingtown.

They can be picked up today.

Also not known is what will happen if it rains on Saturday.

The Millersville University Weather Information Center says there is a slight risk of an isolated shower.


Staff writer Ryan Robinson can be reached at rrobinson@LNPnews.com or 481-6032.