news-record.com

GREENSBORO — Presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama will hold a rally in Greensboro Wednesday, Mayor Yvonne Johnson confirmed Sunday.

Johnson said Obama will hold a campaign rally at the Greensboro Coliseum beginning at 11 a.m. as he makes his second stop in the state within a week.

The rally will be open to the public but space is limited, Johnson said. Tickets will be available at the Guilford County Democratic Party headquarters at 6600-J W. Market St. beginning Monday during a press conference scheduled for 11 a.m.

"I am absolutely thrilled. I think it will be great for Greensboro," Johnson said.

A spokesman for Obama's campaign, Dan Leistikow, would confirm only that the senator would be in the state campaigning this week.

Obama scrubbed plans to stop in Greensboro this past Wednesday, citing scheduling concerns. He stopped that day for a rally in Fayetteville, where he attacked his opponent in the Democratic Party primaries, Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York, for her position on the war in Iraq. Later that day Obama took part in a town hall meeting and fund raiser in Charlotte.

The battle between Obama and Clinton for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination remains close late into the primary and caucuses season, making North Carolina's May 6 primary a coveted win for the first time in recent history.

Obama is leading in the race by a slim margin with 1,622 delegates to Clinton's 1,485. Either must claim at least 2,024 delegates to win the nomination.

Former President Bill Clinton stumped for his wife in Cary on Friday. He told a group at a senior center North Carolina could become the swing state in the race for the party nomination. He also said he expected his wife to campaign in the state this week and every week leading up to the primary.