The big Republican Party rally scheduled for tonight in Macomb County will go on without the featured speaker, President Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway.
Just minutes ago, the Michigan Republican Party sent a press release that said Conway is stuck in Washington due to an “aircraft malfunction.” No further details were provided. Conway was slated as the keynote speaker at a GOP get-out-the-vote rally in Sterling Heights.
Doors opened at 6 p.m. at the Villa Penna banquet hall and the 7 p.m. event will continue with the top of the Republican ticket taking turns at the microphone: Senate candidate John James, gubernatorial hopeful Bill Schuette, Republican nominee for attorney general Tom Leonard, and the GOP’s choice for secretary of state, Mary Treder Lang. Polling shows all four candidates lagging behind their Democratic opponents.
The timing of the GOP release was unusual as it was issued less than a half-hour before the 7 p.m. starting time for the event. The circumstances also suggest that Conway may have planned to fly on a government-funded airplane, rather than a commercial flight.
What’s more, the MIGOP release oddly took the tone of an independent news agency, rather than a political organization that had arranged the rally:
When asked for comment Mrs. Conway sent the following statement: “I am highly disappointed that I will not be able to take part in tonight’s ‘Get Out the Vote’ rally, due to unforeseen aircraft mechanical problems. However, I am incredibly excited by the tremendous momentum John James, Bill Schuette, and the rest of the Michigan Republican ticket has shown over the past weeks, and I will make every effort to come to Michigan prior to the election.
