Election Day is finally here, and the Democratic Party made one of its biggest final stands right on Penn’s campus.
At one of the last Democratic rallies this election season, First Lady Michelle Obama spoke to a crowd of 3,500 Penn students and community members in the frigid November weather about the stakes of Tuesday’s midterm election.
“This election is about all we have left to do,” Obama said. “So let me ask you—can we do this?”Some classes were forced to relocate as a result of the rally. Houston, College and Claudia Cohen halls were all closed to students for security purposes Monday afternoon, according to an e-mail from Office of Student Affairs Executive Director Karu Kozuma.
A litany of Pennsylvania Democrats joined the First Lady in front of Houston Hall, including Democratic senatorial nominee Joe Sestak and gubernatorial nominee Dan Onorato. Sen. Robert Casey, Sen. Arlen Specter, US Rep. Chaka Fattah, Mayor Michael Nutter and Gov. Ed Rendell were also present. Specter, Fattah, Nutter and Rendell are all Penn alumni.
The First Lady’s trip comes just two days after President Barack Obama’s visit to Temple University on Saturday, highlighting the importance Democrats are placing on Pennsylvania this election season.
“[They] don’t think you’re showing up to vote,” Onorato said to the Penn student-dominated crowd, explaining that experts expect a drop-off in turnout from those 25 and under.
