U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D. Ill., is coming to Madison Oct. 15, according to an announcement by his national campaign Tuesday.

This will be the second Wisconsin trip for the 2008 presidential hopeful this year, following a similar April event in Milwaukee.

The Madison fundraising event—entitled “Countdown to Change”—is scheduled for The Orpheum, 216 State St., at 11 a.m. Ben LaBolt, spokesperson for the national Obama ’08 campaign, said the Orpheum was chosen because it is a central location for the city and the campus.

“Our campaign has been organizing campuses across the country and we’re actively encouraging a strong youth turnout,” LaBolt said. “We’ve seen a very strong organization on behalf of our campaign at Madison and we’re looking forward to a good turnout for the event.”

Andrew Gordon, UW-Madison Students for Barack Obama chair, said the group plans to volunteer to make the event a success.

“Students have been the backbone of the Obama campaign,” he said.

“We’re just really excited to be able to have Senator Obama here speaking to students directly about why he is the best candidate for the President of the United States and we’re looking forward to all the hard work that is coming for us to make this event happen.”

Gordon said Obama’s coming to Madison so early in the race is not unusual. The national Obama campaign and SFBO, as well as an employee at The Orpheum, said specific details such as the number of tickets available are still in the works.

LaBolt said he recommends individuals interested in attending the event purchase tickets in advance.

“There’s not a better reason than Obama visiting to skip class,” Gordon said. Tickets are available at https://donate.barackobama.com/page/contribute/C2Cmadison and are $15 for students, $30 for general admission.