President Barack Obama's scheduled trip to Bridgeport Wednesday has been postponed so he can meet at the White House with cabinet agencies coordinating the government’s Ebola response, the White House press secretary's office said in a statement.
Obama was supposed to participate in a campaign rally for Gov. Dannel Malloy, who is in a close re-election race in a state that Obama won handily in 2012.
The announcement came hours after officials in Texas confirmed that a second nurse who cared for Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan, a Liberian man who died of the virus in a Dallas hospital on Oct. 8, has tested positive for the virus. The woman, who was identified by the Dallas Morning News as 29-year-old registered nurse Amber Joy Vinson, was put into isolation at the Dallas hospital Tuesday after showing symptoms.
Wednesday's stop in Connecticut would have been the first public political appearance by the president in this fall election campaign.
If you had a ticket to tonight’s rally, you will have priority to attend when the oresident returns later if you visit a Democratic Party field office, drop off your tickets and provide your contact information.
Between 10 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 20 and 5 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 23, return your tickets to any of the following locations to have priority for when the oresident returns:
- Hartford Field Office, 30 Arbor Street, 3rd Floor in Hartford
- New Haven Field Office, 50 Fitch Street in New Haven
- Bridgeport Field Office, at 908 Wood Avenue in Bridgeport
- Bridgeport East Main Street Headquarters, at 2484 East Main Street in Bridgeport
- Stamford Field Office, at 29 Bank Street in Stamford
Obama has raised money for Democrats and recently attended an intimate fundraiser for Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, another incumbent facing a tough re-election bid.
Malloy is in a toss-up contest with Republican Tom Foley, a former ambassador to Ireland who lost to Malloy in 2010.
Obama won Connecticut by 17 percentage points in 2012. Nationally, more Americans disapprove of Obama's performance than approve. As a result, he is likely to stay away from campaigning in states where he lost or had close contests.
