President Obama is set for a three-day campaign blitz for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, with rallies in the crucial states of Ohio, North Carolina and Florida in the last week before the Nov. 8 election.
{mosads}Obama will campaign on Tuesday for Clinton in Columbus, Ohio, before heading to North Carolina Wednesday for a get-out-the-vote event in Raleigh, according to her campaign.
The president on Thursday will head to Florida, where he’ll speak at events in the Miami area and Jacksonville.
Obama has campaigned for Clinton for months, but he is ramping up his schedule in the final week before Election Day.
He is not leaving anything to chance in ensuring the White House remains in Democratic hands. The battleground map tilts in Clinton’s favor, but several recent surveys show the race between her and Republican nominee Donald Trump is tightening.
Clinton’s campaign has struggled to contain damage from the WikiLeaks release of thousands of emails from campaign chairman John Podesta’s personal account, even as Trump’s campaign has been weighed down by allegations of sexual misconduct and flagging support from the Republican establishment.
The FBI’s Friday announcement that it is reopening its investigation into Clinton’s private email server was also a blow to her campaign.
The former secretary of State is hoping to leverage Obama’s strong favorability ratings and skills on the stump to bolster her campaign.
Clinton is relying on the president to help motivate key members of his winning coalitions, including young people and African-Americans, to show up to the polls.
“You have the chance to have influence, to make a difference, and those who say my vote doesn’t matter anyway … you know these margins are small in a lot of these states, so your vote matters,” Obama said Friday in an interview with SiriusXM radio.
“And if you want to break gridlock in Washington, then you can’t give your power away.”