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Well-known politicians stump in Michigan ahead of midterms

November 5, 2018

The Michigan Democratic and Republican Parties called in some of their biggest surrogates in the final days before the 2018 midterm elections.

For Democrats, rallies with former President Barack Obama in Detroit and former Vice President Joe Biden in Lansing were intended to increase voter enthusiasm in an election that could be determined by turnout.

“The main reason I am here is to make sure that all of you vote in what I believe might be the most important election of our lifetime,” Obama told a crowd gathered in Detroit. “The stakes in this election are really high; the consequences of sitting on the sidelines in this election are dangerous and profound.”

Among those consequences, Biden said, is determining the character of the United States. 

“The only thing strong enough to tear America apart is America itself. We’ve seen it start and we have to make it stop. That’s what Tuesday’s all about; we have to make it clear that we Democrats, we choose hope over fear, we choose unity over division, we choose our allies over our enemies and we choose truth over lies,” Biden said. “This is America. Together, we can do anything and we can take it all back, so get the hell up, go out and vote, take it back now.”

For Republicans, visits from Vice President Mike Pence and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani were organized to help close a 12-point gap between gubernatorial candidate Bill Schuette and Democrat Gretchen Whitmer.

“History teaches that, for the party that’s in the White House, the first midterm election is challenging. It’s been true for the Republican Party for every first midterm for 100 years other than two,” Pence said. “That’s the conventional wisdom, that it’s going to be tough to post a victory this year. But I think we all know what President Donald Trump thinks of conventional wisdom.”

“Let’s make sure that blue wave hits a red wall right here in Michigan,” Pence said.

Giuliani’s visit came days after he tweeted his support for “Don James” in the U.S. Senate race in Michigan, a misspelling of Republican senatorial nominee John James’ name. 

“I went online and I read all about the race, and I just tweeted out as I was going to bed, which is what I always tell my good friend and client (President Donald Trump) not to do,” Giuliani said. “I’ve spent the last three years telling him, 'don’t do that, no tweeting tonight.'”

With early voter turnout up nationwide, Obama said he remains optimistic about the future. 

“Out of this political darkness, I’m seeing a great awakening across the country,” Obama said. “Change is gonna come. Hope will start happening again. And with each step that we take in the direction of fairness, and justice, and equality and opportunity, hope has a funny way of spreading. Hope is infectious. Hope gets a momentum, kindness gets a momentum, honesty gets a momentum, caring for each other gets a momentum. That’s what your vote can do.”

Giuliani said voters are looking for something different than what Democrats have been offering.

“Americans have had enough of this terrible, divided kind of government — this government of obstruction. They’re not going to vote for that,” Giuliani said. “They’re going to vote for candidates who talk about unity, candidates who talk about job growth, candidates who talk about less regulations, candidates who talk about a strong America, candidates who talk about good judges for the Supreme Court. That’s who they’re going to vote for, and you have those candidates. Make sure you vote for them, and let Michigan surprise the world on Tuesday night.”

White House counselor Kellyanne Conway and #MeToo activist Alyssa Milano also joined the campaign trail in Michigan with gubernatorial candidates Bill Schuette and Gretchen Whitmer, respectively.

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