First lady to rally for Dem gov candidates

First lady Michelle Obama is heading to a pair of get-out-the-vote rallies to help Democratic gubernatorial candidates with under a week before Election Day.

The first lady will head to Moline, Ill., on Thursday for a rally with incumbent Gov. Pat Quinn, Rep. Cheri Bustos (D) and Sen. Dick Durbin (D) 

{mosads}While Durbin is expected to sail to reelection and Bustos led Republican challenger Bobby Schilling 55 to 39 percent in a WeAskAmerica poll released earlier this month, Quinn is locked in a tough reelection fight.

A McKeon & Associates poll released by the Chicago Sun-Times on Wednesday showed the governor locked in a dead heat with Republican Bruce Rauner, each with 45 percent of the vote.

The Obamas have devoted a significant amount of attention to the race, with the president attending a fundraiser for Quinn and the first lady appearing at multiple campaign rallies and in television commercials for the governor. 

Her southern Illinois appearance is also likely to generate coverage in neighboring Iowa, where the first lady has visited on numerous occasions to stump for Rep. Bruce Braley’s (D) Senate bid.

The day before voters head to the polls, Obama will attend a rally hosted by Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) in Upper Marlboro, Md. The event will benefit Maryland gubernatorial candidate Anthony Brown, a law school classmate of President Obama. The president himself headlined a rally on Brown’s behalf earlier this month.

Unless the first lady adds additional events to her schedule before Election Day, she will have attended 13 fundraisers and 18 rallies for Democrats this year, according to CBS News.