GOP Train to Stop at Local Amtrak Station

Borrowing from one of the oldest American political traditions, House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Glendale Assemblyman James Rogan, along with hundreds of other Republican leaders, will be traveling through the Valley by train today on a tour of the state.

Gingrich and Rogan will be among the speakers in Glendale, one of four scheduled stops for the “Victory Express Train” which starts in Oakland and finishes in San Diego, the site of the Republican National Convention.

About 500 Republican elected officials, delegates and activists will be on board, California Republican Party officials said.

“It’s one thing to put out ads on TV,” said state party spokesman Todd Harris.

“It’s a completely different brand of campaign when you bring the candidates to the people with a whistle-stop tour. What it allows us to do is bring the excitement of the national convention to people all over the state.”

The train will also stop in San Luis Obispo, Fullerton and San Diego.

Glendale was selected as a stop because it is seen as a stronghold for Republicans, officials said.

“Most of the elected officials there are Republicans,” Harris said.

The train will stop at the Glendale Amtrak station, 400 W. Cerritos Ave., where Republican leaders will deliver speeches. Music and food will be provided in what party officials said will be a fun atmosphere.

“I’m sure it will be a very rousing, fire-up-the-party kind of speech,” said Staci Turner, Rogan’s press secretary.

The Glendale stop--the only one in the San Fernando Valley--will be at 4:05 p.m. today.

Other Republican dignitaries on board include state Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren, Assembly Speaker Curt Pringle, former U.N. Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick and former Secretary of State George Schultz.