MILWAUKEE — Former President Barack Obama says voters will choose next month between Dems who share their values and Republicans who are only hungry for power.
Inside a packed North Division High School gymnasium Saturday, Obama told voters they have a choice between those who will do anything and say anything to gain power and those who share their values. Dem candidates want to improve the economy, public safety and public schools, he said.
He added that Republicans care about “owning the libs and getting the approval of Donald Trump.”
“That’s their agenda,” he said as the crowd erupted in ‘boos.’ “No, no, no. Don’t boo, vote. Nobody can hear your boos outside of this auditorium. But they can hear your vote.”
The rally came a little more than a week away from the Nov. 8 election as Dems work to drum up support in the final days. Obama is the latest in a string of high-profile surrogates to visit the state, from U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., to Virginia’s Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
Obama last visited Division High School in 2018 as he rallied for then-state Superintendent Tony Evers as he sought the guv’s office and U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, as she sought reelection.
Republican National Committee spokesperson Rachel Reisner dismissed Obama’s visit.
“After a third failed term of the Obama-Biden agenda, Barack Obama isn’t the golden ticket Wisconsin Democrats think he is,” she said. “All Wisconsin families will see is more crime, more economic uncertainty, and more financial pain if they elect rubber stamps like Tony Evers and Mandela Barnes.”
Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Ben Wikler ahead of Obama kicked off the speeches, told the crowd the races for U.S. Senate and guv are tied. He said Wisconsinites “know what it’s like to live in a the most closely divided state in the entire country.”
“The only state where four of the last six presidential elections came down to less than one percentage point,” he said. “The other two were Obama landslides.”
Senate candidate Mandela Barnes told the crowd the former Illinois U.S. senator inspired him to run for office.
“Seeing Obama on that stage, it inspired me,” Barnes said. “And it made me think maybe one day with enough hard work I could have the power to make a difference too.”
Barnes also took a shot at U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson for proposing to raise the retirement age to 70.
“Over the next few days, we’re going to do the work so we can lower the retirement age of Ron Johnson,” he said.
Gov. Tony Evers, who introduced Obama, blasted GOP opponent Tim Michels for proposing to cut public school funding.
“He hasn’t stepped in a public school in this state for decades,” he said.
Watch the video here.
