Romney visiting Ashland Saturday - NBC12.com - Richmond, VA News

The race for the White House will be running through the Richmond area this weekend.

Presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney will be making a campaign stop in Ashland on Saturday.

Ashland is nicknamed the "Center of the Universe" and it will be the center of the political universe this Saturday when former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney comes to visit.

Word is spreading quickly around town about his upcoming visit. Many people, like John Webb, are surprised he picked Ashland.

"It's all around pretty cool he picked a small place like the Center of the Universe to come hang out for a little bit," Webb said.

Suzanne Wolstenholme will be hosting Romney at her downtown restaurant.

She said she just found out this week he was going to visit.

"I was just thrilled," Wolstenholme said.  "Ashland is just a wonderful place for anybody to be."

This is not the first time a prominent politician has come to Suzanne's. Sarah Palin made a stop there during the 2008 campaign.

"I don't know how we became a political magnet," she said.  "We get good publicity out of it and that's good for our business."

Suzanne said she likes Romney, but she's more than willing to host a Democrat too.

She said either way, she won't have to prepare as much food as you'd think.

"We've catered a lot of political events in the 30 years we've been in business and politicians don't eat," she said.  "They're talking and shaking hands and you don't have to make much food during a political event."

As the buzz builds around town, people like Webb say they're going to stop by to check out the action.

"I'll probably step outside, come down to Suzanne's and at least try to catch a glimpse of him," he said.

Romney will also be making stops in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads.

This latest campaign swing has sparked speculation that Governor Bob McDonnell may be moving up Romney's short list for a vice presidential running mate.

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