Cheney to visit Nov. 1

| October 27, 2006 1:00 AM

By JIM MANN

Vice president will campaign for Burns; Bush may attend Billings event

The Daily Inter Lake

Vice President Dick Cheney reportedly is returning to the Flathead Valley next week to campaign for Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., and there is word that President George W. Bush may be in Billings for a similar event.

"He will be there," confirmed Megan McGinn, a spokeswoman for the vice president in Washington, D.C.

McGinn said an advance team is working on logistics and arrangements for a Nov. 1 rally at the Majestic Valley Arena north of Kalispell.

State Sen. Bob Keenan, who chairs the Flathead County Republican Central Committee and ran against Burns in the primary election, said he has been asked to be at a campaign event in Billings with President Bush the next day, Nov. 2.

The White House Press Office has not confirmed a Bush visit to Billings.

Visits from the president and vice president the week before the Nov. 7 election would be highly unusual for Montana, and indicative of how the GOP is going all-out to back Burns.

The state's junior senator is considered vulnerable in his bid for a fourth term in an election year when national Democrats hope to capture a majority in the Senate. In various polls, Burns has trailed Democratic challenger Jon Tester, the president of the Montana Senate.

Cheney came to Flathead Valley in August for a private fundraiser for Burns at the Lodge at Whitefish Lake. The event attracted considerable media attention, along with turnouts from supporters and protesters.

Keenan said that a visit to the Majestic Valley Arena - a much larger venue - would be more suited for a political rally rather than an exclusive fundraiser.

Sara Pompei, spokeswoman for the Burns campaign, said she and others associated with the campaign could not comment on any White House visits.

"I've heard that rumor but I can't confirm it," she said. "The White House has to release the vice president's schedule."

Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by e-mail at jmann@dailyinterlake.com.