A Pittsburgh appearance by President Bush will culminate a weekend of high-profile political visits to the city beginning next Friday.

While the White House won't confirm the president's plans, local Republicans have been notified to expect him at an April 19 fund-raiser for U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter.

The president's appearance will come three days after his rival, Sen. John F. Kerry, D-Mass., comes to town to raise money and greet supporters.

Sandwiched between the two presidential contenders will be an appearance by Vice President Dick Cheney at the National Rifle Association convention on April 17.

A spokeswoman for the Kerry campaign emphasized that the Democratic Party standard-bearer's schedule was still tentative, but confirmed that Kerry plans to appear here next Friday with Gov. Ed Rendell and other supporters.

Kerry has no real opposition in the Pennsylvania Democratic primary on April 27, although Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, insists he's still a candidate.

Kerry, who raised a record of nearly $50 million in the first quarter of the year, is expected to hold a fund-raising event Downtown. That will be followed by the Oakland appearance, tentatively planned for a site at or near the University of Pittsburgh.

For Bush, who has raised more than $170 million for his re-election bid, it will be his 27th trip to Pennsylvania since the 2000 election.

Kerry's visit is his first since clinching the Democratic nomination.

Bush lost Pennsylvania to former Vice President Al Gore by a little more than 200,000 votes, or 5 percentage points, in the 2000 election. His frequent visits since reflect his determination to put the state's 21 electoral votes in his column this time around.

The president's appearance also underscores his administration's support for Specter in his tough battle for the Republican Senate nomination against Rep. Pat Toomey, R-Allentown. The incumbent has appeared with Bush at several Pennsylvania fund-raisers for the Bush-Cheney campaign fund in the past year. This will mark the first time that Bush has personally raised money for Specter, who enjoys a steep cash advantage over his challenger.

Other administration figures, including Cheney and White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card, have headlined past Specter events.

Cheney is expected to give the keynote speech April 17 at the NRA's national convention at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Downtown. Neither the vice president's office nor the NRA would confirm his plans.

The NRA was a strong supporter of the Bush-Cheney ticket in the 2000 election. The group has yet to make a formal endorsement in the 2004 race.

Kerry has emphasized that while he supports some gun control measures, he is not anti-gun, and frequently points out that he himself is a hunter. But the NRA's chief executive, Wayne LaPierre, made the group's predilection clear in a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette interview earlier this week.

"We understand who John Kerry is," he said. "A lot of people [in the NRA] don't want to go back to Clinton-Gore. In terms of firearms, he's out of step with most of the country on this issue."