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St. Paris resident Kathy DeWeese, 55, and her son, David, 16, both volunteered for the Trump campaign.
“It’s a great opportunity to go support the leadership and be part of the festivities there,” said DeWeese. “It’s like the reward at the end.”
Randy Simmons, 62, of West Chester Twp. sees it similarly. He was an early supporter of Trump and helped set up the first Trump office in Ohio. He’s going to the inauguration with a group of about 24 people.
“For me personally it’s kind of like seeing it through to the end,” said Simmons, owner of Air Solution Co. “My effort to get behind Trump was because I recognized that as a businessman Trump has insights most career politicians simply don’t have.”
Political experts said its hard to know what to expect to hear during the inauguration from Trump, who confounded political experts, voters and pollsters with his campaign, his tweeting, raucous rallies and controversies.
“He’s such an unconventional candidate. He’s promised to be an unconventional president. You can probably expect an unconventional inauguration,” said Mark Caleb Smith, director of the Center for Political Studies at Cedarville University.
Added Butler Twp. Trustee Nick Brusky, field director for Trump’s Ohio campaign: “It’s very reminiscent of Andrew Jackson’s inauguration. There’s going to be a lot of people that are not part of the political elite.”
Tickets to the inaugural were available through congressional offices, but both U.S. Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Troy, and U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Urbana, said they’ve handed out all those they had — nearly 400 between the two offices. U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, R-Dayton, did not respond to a request for information on tickets.
Davidson, R-Troy, who last year won election to the seat once held by John Boehner, is excited not only about the inauguration but about what will happen when Trump takes over.
“My hope is that as soon as he gets to the White House he signs an executive order undoing as much of (President Barack) Obama’s bad policies as possible,” Davidson said.
Jordan also will be at the inauguration.“I’m hoping to hear then-President Trump give a unifying vision for our country, and to discuss how he plans to use conservative principles to help improve the lives of ordinary Americans across the country,” said Jordan.
Longtime Republican volunteer Mary Beth Kemmer, immediate past president of the Miami County Republican Women, said this is the first year she’s gotten an invitation to go the the inaugural and the inaugural ball. The Troy resident will attend both with her husband, Mel.
“When we were kids we went to pep rallies before the game. You want to hear people say ‘we’re going to do this.’ It gets you wound up to do that,” Kemmer said.
Scott Naill of Clark County is attending the inauguration with his wife, Toni. He hopes Trump will talk about some of his campaign themes — “make America great again, bringing jobs back to the United States” — but also use words of unity.
“Really how to bring America together,” Naill said.
Eileen Austria of Beavercreek, who will attend with her husband, Republican former U.S. Rep. Steve Austria, wants to hear an uplifting message.
“I want to hear a strong president with a bold vision,” she said. “I think that’s the purpose of the inauguration.”
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