Libertarian Presidential Candidate to Speak in Centre County

Libertarian Party presidential candidate Jo Jorgensen will visit in Centre County this weekend as part of her three-day tour across western and central Pennsylvania.

Jorgensen’s ‘Brake the Bus Tour‘ will stop at 6:15 p.m. on Sunday at GodSpeed Events & Lodging, 7897 S. Eagle Valley Rd., Port Matilda.

Earlier this week the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the Libertarian Party’s challenge, filed in the spring, to Pennsylvania’s requirements that third parties collect in-person signatures for ballot access in the November general election. The party argued that the COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictions made it too difficult to collect the signatures in person before the Aug. 3 deadline.

This weekend, Jorgensen and the party’s vice presidential candidate, Spike Cohen, are on crisscrossing tours across the commonwealth in an effort to gain the needed 5,000 signatures by Monday. Cohen’s tour will cover eastern Pennsylvania.

Liz Terwilliger, Libertarian candidate for Pennsylvania’s 12th congressional district, which includes part of Centre County, said in a statement she appreciated the top ticket candidates embarking on the signature drive.

“After losing our ballot access appeal this week, I couldn’t be more grateful to the Jorgensen/Cohen campaign for taking the time to rearrange their schedules to be here in support of us,’ Terwilliger said. ‘This is what leadership is.’

Jorgensen, a senior lecturer in psychology at Clemson University, won the Libertarian nomination for president in May. She was the party’s vice presidential nominee in 1996.

Her Pennsylvania tour will begin Saturday at the Washington County Fairgrounds and will conclude Monday with delivery of petitions in Harrisburg. Prior to her stop in Centre County, she will be at Sandy Township Recreational Park in DuBois at 4 p.m. on Sunday.

Rallies are being held outdoors with social distancing and mask-wearing guidelines in place.