©Carroll County Times, February 28, 1992
BUCHANAN TURNS BACK FROM CARROLL HISTORY
Friday, February 28, 1992 | Westminster, Maryland | By Robert Little, Times Staff Writer
Riding a wave of dissent against President George Bush’s domestic tactics, challenger Patrick Buchanan was preparing for a campaign swing today through Westminster, pioised to enter the Carroll County history books.
Then he turned back.
The Republican spoiler candidate cancelled a planned fund raiser that would have made him the first presidential aspirant to visit the county since Theodore Roosevelt in 1912.
Buchanan has opted to step up his campaign efforts in Georgia—a state his aides say offers a better chance for victory in next Tuesday’s primary election.
“Pat’s supporters here are really die-hards. I know they’re diappointed,” said Joe Steffen, Buchanan’s communication director for Maryland. “But Georgia, all along, has been more of a priority than Maryland. He has better opportunities down there.”
Steffen stressed that tonight’s planned event was only tentative, and that campaign plans historically are changed at the last minute. But supporters in Carroll County had alredy sold nearly all 100 of the $100 tickets to the event—contributions that have been returned.
“It was very disappointing, but it was also very understandable,” said Jack Cugle, who was set to host the event at his Ship’s Quarters Farm on Sullivan Road, the event at his Ship’s Quarters Farm on Sullivan Road.
Cugle said the decision to cancel was handled amicably and that no arrangements were made that could not be reversed. He said that five fund-raisers around the nation had to be called off in the days before the election, as Buchanan and his staff shifted their strategy and staked out a new battleground.
… The rest of the article continues on A8.
COLLECTOR’S ITEM—This is a copy of the invitation to the Buchanan fund-raiser that wasn’t.
Patrick Buchanan was a pre-Trump leader.