Washington County GOP chair 'puzzled' by scheduled presidential visit

As a youngster, Neil Parrott, now a Republican state delegate representing Washington County and running for Congress, went to Washington, D.C., with his parents to attend the presidential inaugurations of Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan.

Now, with the current president, Joseph R. Biden, scheduled to visit Washington County on Friday amidst a tight race between the three-term state delegate and incumbent Democratic Rep. David Trone, the Republican candidate for Congress might skip seeing the president this time.

Read more: President Biden is coming to Hagerstown. What we know about his visit.

“I respect the office of the President. Anytime the President of the United States visits my town, it’s a big deal,” said Parrott, in an email. “Unfortunately, however, President Biden has driven this economy to the ground.”

While the White House has said the visit’s purpose relates to the economy, Parrott said the “only reason” the president is coming to Hagerstown is because of the 6th Congressional District race.

Jerry DeWolf, chairman of the Washington County Republican Central Committee, called the scheduled presidential visit “quite stunning” considering national and global issues.

Citing “national emergencies” such as immigration, inflation, and the recent hurricane in Florida, DeWolf said in an email he was “puzzled” by the president’s scheduled appearance in Hagerstown with Trone.

In a story about Biden's visit that ran online Wednesday, Donna Brightman, chairwoman of the Washington County Democratic Central Committee, told Herald-Mail Media that it was her understanding Biden had initially planned to come last week, but postponed to monitor the impact of Hurricane Ian.

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The White House confirmed Thursday that Biden will be speaking at the Volvo Group powertrain plant on Pennsylvania Avenue north of Hagerstown.

The national polling site fivethirtyeight.com shows Trone with a two-percentage point lead over Parrott, according to an Oct. 5 evening update.

Asked if he has any intent to attend, Parrott said he learned of the event on Wednesday through the media and will be looking to see what the specifics are for the presidential visit.

Dwight A. Weingarten is an investigative reporter, covering the Maryland State House and state issues. He can be reached at dweingarten@gannett.com or on Twitter at @DwightWeingart2.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Washington County GOP Chair "puzzled" by scheduled Joe Biden visit