Regardless of how the election plays out, Kennedy said he hopes to see increased voter turnout across party lines. 

"If my views, when I put them out there, more Americans don’t vote for them, that means that my views aren’t reflected by the majority of Americans. That means that I’ve either got to live with it or update my policies,” Kennedy said. “The response to this is not disenfranchisement, voter suppression, unlimited campaign spending, gerrymandered districts, repeal of the Voting Rights Act, it is not any of those things. It is making sure that we, as a country, lean into the policies and the protections and the platforms that are necessary to ensure that every single person in our society is able to maximize their potential.”

Kennedy, the great-nephew of former President John F. Kennedy and grandson of former Attorney General Robert Kennedy, said that it is not party affiliation or ideology that matters when weighing who to vote for, but rather a set of character traits. 

“When I think of what our country needs now more than anything, it’s principled leadership. It’s not about politics, not about ideology,” Kennedy said. “It’s about making sure our federal government, particularly our legislative branch, recognizes that just because somebody might see something differently than you that that’s not bad, or wrong, or un-American, or should be vilified. That means we are a country that celebrates diversity, and diversity of opinion is right up there at the top.”

Attendees at the event were asked by Kennedy to shout out whichever issues they consider important. Responses included everything from listening to survivors of sexual assault to tackling student loan debt, the latter of which is an issue that U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Michigan, addressed.

“When we think about great universities like this, the fantastic research going on, opportunities for students, those opportunities that you have come, right now, with a huge cost in terms of the debt that you accumulate,” Stabenow said. “We are the ones who care deeply about reducing that debt and making a place where you can come and walk out debt free from college and go on and live your life.”

Legislation being co-sponsored by Stabenow in the Senate seeks to lower interest rates on student loans, and a new bill being introduced next week would aim to end origination fees, Stabenow said.

Stabenow encouraged every student in attendance to go door-to-door in their dorms registering others to vote, as she said she did when she was a resident assistant at MSU.

“I was actually an RA at Hubbard Hall, and I have walked in Wonders and Hubbard and across campus, knocking on doors saying ‘Please come out and vote, are you registered, let’s get involved, make sure that you are getting yourself and your friends out,’" Stabenow said. "This year, no dorm should be without people knocking on their doors. Every single dorm.”

Kennedy previously visited Michigan in October 2017, when U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Michigan, invited him to tour the Flint Farmers’ Market. Kildee also attended Wednesday's event, saying that anybody who doesn’t understand the importance of elections should speak to his constituents in Flint. 

“We hear all the time, I’m sure you do, people who talk about the state of politics in our country or in our state or even at home. They get frustrated because they feel like their voice doesn’t matter, their vote doesn’t count,” Kildee said. “I’m from Flint. Anyone who has a doubt as to whether elections have consequences and the choices we make matter needs to come and sit down with a family in my hometown. A family that might have young children who, because of the decisions of their own state government, have their entire futures placed in doubt.” 

Democrats hope to reclaim control of state and federal government in 2018, but the lawmakers denounced the decision by the U.S. Sixth Court of Appeals to remove a straight-ticket voting option on November’s ballot as potentially harmful to the party's shot as success.

“Our whole lives in Michigan, we have been able to go in and vote straight Democratic or straight Republican,” Stabenow said. “Not this year. This is important. We have to make sure this fall, we vote ‘em all right on down. … They’re hoping that folks will either be confused and not know how the ballot has changed, or not vote the whole ballot.”

Kennedy stuck around after the event until every attendee who wanted to was able to talk to him, and was encouraged by some to run for president in 2020. Asked whether he would consider launching a campaign, Kennedy said “for reelection (to the House), yes, I hope; for anything other than that, I doubt it.”