In a red gym, Michelle Obama calls for a blue NC

RALEIGH — Speaking directly to the crowd of NC State students on Oct. 4, First Lady Michelle Obama explained to the younger audience they could be the difference of ensuring Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton moves into the office. According to a poll released by Elon University on Tuesday, people ages 18-40 support Clinton at 55 percent compared to 45 supporting a Donald Trump presidency. She addressed the college students and said attending rallies is not the same as voting.”Do you want Hillary Clinton to be your president or her opponent?” Obama asked “It’s not enough to come to the rally. Get a selfie.” Obama used the example of how close the 2008 election was in North Carolina when her husband Barack Obama won to show how important voting is.”Elections aren’t just about who votes, but who doesn’t vote,” Obama said. “That is especially true for our young people, like many of you. So any of you who might be thinking your vote doesn’t really matter or one person can’t really make a difference, consider this — and I’ve shared this for every campaign I’ve been on — because it is true for every race, every election — I want you all young people to think about this when it is time to vote. Back in 2008, Barack won North Carolina by about 14,000 votes, if you broke that down the difference between winning and losing the state was a little over two votes per precinct.” Obama lost North Carolina in 2012, and the state has been known as a swing state with Clinton and Trump leading at various times in the polls and stumping frequently. Former Gov. Jim Hunt, who was student body president at NC State, commented although the venue of Reynolds Coliseum is decked out in red and white, he wants the outcome of the election to be blue.”You can see why I’m big on the red and white, but this year I want to turn North Carolina blue,” Hunt said. The Elon poll showed Clinton leading by 6 points in the race at 44.5 percent, compared to Trump’s 38.7 percent polling. Obama spoke about the difference between Clinton and “the other candidate,” referring to Trump. “The presidency doesn’t change who you are,” Obama began. “It reveals who you are.”So if a candidate traffics prejudice fears and lies on the campaign trail. If a candidate mocks people with disabilities or people who are sick. And if a candidate can demise that our veterans who served our country so gracefully are somehow weak dealing with the wounds of war. And if the candidate literally demeans and humiliates women, making insulting comments about our bodies, criticizing how we look and how we act. That’s who that candidate really is.” Democratic Senate candidate Deborah Ross spoke ahead of Obama and addressed the negative ads her opponent Richard Burr has put out, quoting the First Lady and saying the reaction to negativity shows ones character. “Folks you are going to see lot of negative ads on T.V.,” Ross said. “I’m sure you’ve seen some of them already. But the First Lady has kind of helped me out with that, because you know what she said at the convention, ‘When they go low, we have to go high.'”Obama stressed the importance of this election and said she would not be out on the campaign trail once again if she didn’t believe the stakes were high. She ended her speech with a play on Clinton’s campaign slogan “I’m With Her.””My question for you is are you all with me.”