Former President Barack Obama presented his case for the Democratic ticket in Michigan in front of a packed gymnasium in Detroit on Saturday, as races across the state came down to the wire.
Obama visited Detroit’s Renaissance High School as part of a limited national tour to rally Democrats in key battleground states such as Michigan, Wisconsin, and Georgia.
“The thing is, we can’t give in to the temptation to give up. We can’t turn inward. We can’t see politics as a zero-sum game where anything goes,” Obama said.
The rally, which drew a standing-room-only crowd, was intended to encourage Democratic voters to vote. The former President made a strong case for abortion and voting rights. Both of these issues were animating factors over the summer, but they have fallen slightly from voters’ minds as inflation has risen.
“The most personal of health choices should be between a woman and her doctor, not politicians,” Obama said. “Here in Michigan, this isn’t even theoretical, abortion rights are literally on the ballot.”
In response to the visit, MIGOP spokesperson Gustavo Portela said in a statement, “Gretchen Whitmer’s desperation is showing as she brings in establishment reinforcements to campaign with her ahead of Election Day . . . Barack Obama’s presence in Michigan does not signal what she thinks it does.”
Obama’s visit comes as races in Michigan have started to tighten with Election Day just over a week away.
Recent polling averages show Gov. Gretchen Whitmer leading the race for governor by three points, down from a double-digit lead at the end of the summer.
Races across the state, including seats in Metro Detroit, are critical for Democrats to maintain control of Congress.
The former President only mentioned GOP gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon once, while discussing a recent video of her show’s June 2020 monologue on a Conservative online news outlet. Dixon claimed in the video that Democrats wanted to “topple the US” in retaliation for losing the civil war.
In response Dixon said:
“Gretchen Whitmer is panicking because she’s been exposed as a failed governor and is completely unable to defend her record. Not even this last-minute fly from Obama can erase all the lies and broken promises she’s told the Michigan people. I am a breast cancer survivor and a mom of four girls who just want to protect our kids and give them all a better future. Isn’t that what all moms and dads want? The Biden-Whitmer radicals want you to believe that parents are domestic terrorists. But the truth is, Whitmer is the radical extremist who supports abortions on demand up to the moment of birth, without even a requirement that the abortionist be a doctor. She even refuses to say that pornographic materials should not be in our schools for children. Just this week, Gretchen stood on the debate stage and lied to parents saying that schools were only closed for 3 months during COVID – parents know better.”
With only 10 days until the election, Obama delivered a directive to a cheering crowd at the high school. “Let’s get to work! Thank you, Detroit! Thank you, Michigan! I love you! Let’s go do it!”
