Richard Schiff, an actor who formerly played a White House senior staffer on the NBC show The West Wing, will be in Athens on Friday campaigning for Hillary Clinton.
Schiff will speak in Schoonover 145 at 4:30 p.m. to encourage people to register to vote, according to a news release from Hillary Clinton's Ohio campaign. Nationally, the campaign is trying to register or commit to vote three million Americans before the election.
"This election in particular is no time for anyone to be sitting on the sideline," John Haseley, chair of the Athens County Democratic Party, said. "If voters aren't motivated by economic issues or healthcare issues, they should be motivated by issues of national security. ... I think Donald Trump being elected to the White House would make America a much less safe place."
Haseley said the tone of the election, coupled with Ohio's status as a swing state, will likely mean a number of high-profile Democrats will try to appeal to Ohioans in the coming months.
"I think we're going to see more and more people who are familiar to Athens residents from TV or politics who will be coming to Ohio or to our area to campaign for Hillary Clinton," he said.
Haseley could not name any specific celebrities or public figures who would make stops in Athens this election.
Though some know Schiff for his role as Toby Ziegler in The West Wing, Haseley said he didn't watch the show much. During the show's run from 1999 to 2006, Haseley was working in Washington D.C. for then Rep-Ted Strickland.
"(The show) was too much like going back to work," he said.
