By Eric Johnson
CLEVELAND, Oct 17 (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama
plans to usher in what he hopes will be a second four-year term
in the White House at an election-night rally at a huge
convention center near downtown Chicago, a campaign official
said on Wednesday.
The event will likely draw thousands of supporters to the
McCormick Place convention center in Chicago, Obama’s hometown
and the site of his re-election campaign headquarters.
Supporters are expected to watch the voting results come in
and then hear a speech by the incumbent Democrat who faces
Republican Mitt Romney, a former Massachusetts governor and
private equity executive, in the Nov. 6 general election.
More than 200,000 revelers flooded Chicago’s Grant Park
after Obama beat John McCain in 2008 to become the first black
U.S. president.
McCormick Place attracts close to 3 million visitors each
year and has assembly seating for 18,000 people, according to
its website.
The campaign official declined to discuss why the event
would not be held in Grant Park.
The official, who declined to speak on the record, said
plans for the rally were still being worked out and declined to
say how many people the campaign expects to attend.
(Editing by Mohammad Zargham)
