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During that year, Newman was on the campaign trail for Democratic presidential candidate Eugene McCarthy, a U.S. senator from Minnesota. Newman made a stop in La Crosse on March 30, three days before the Wisconsin presidential primary.
He arrived at the La Crosse Municipal Airport at 12:45 p.m. where he spoke to about 100 people before leaving in a station wagon.
Newman was scheduled to make random stops on Gillette Street and make surprise visits at some local homes, but this plan was abandoned, and Newman’s group headed straight downtown.
A crowd of 2,000 people was waiting for Newman near the Stoddard Hotel at Fourth and State streets.
Newman had planned to take a walking tour of downtown, but the huge crowd made such a tour virtually impossible.
Instead, Newman addressed the crowd while standing on the tailgate of the station wagon near the McCarthy headquarters at 526 Main St.
Source: La Crosse Public Library Archives. For additional information, contact the archives at (608) 789-7136.
