Thousands flocked to downtown Phoenix on Thursday to see First Lady Michelle Obama campaign for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
The Arizona Democratic Party Early Vote Rally took place at the Phoenix Convention Center following campaign stops from Bernie Sanders in Flagstaff and Chelsea Clinton at Arizona State University earlier in the week.
Obama began the speech with a punch to Republican nominee Donald Trump that, “decent men do not demean women, and we shouldn’t tolerate this behavior from any man, let alone from someone who wants to be the president.”
Cheers from the crowd followed as the First Lady described values that her and Clinton share and those values she feels Trump lacks.
“Perhaps living life high up in a tower and in a world of exclusive clubs, measuring success by wins and losses and the number of zeros of your bank account, perhaps you just develop a different set of values,” Obama said.
She adds that she thinks Trump doesn’t understand decent, hardworking families like her parents.
“We all know better, whether we’re Democrats, Republicans or Independents, it doesn’t matter,” Obama said. “We all understand that attack on any one of us is an attack on all of us.”
Obama highlighted Clinton’s plans to raise the minimum wage, improve schools and decrease student debt.
“Hillary doesn’t just have a powerful vision for this country, she has the policies to actually make that vision a reality,” Obama said.
Lines wrapped around downtown Phoenix with supporters wearing shirts with the slogan “I’m with her” and the new term, “I’m a nasty woman”, following Trump’s comment made to Clinton at the last presidential debate.
One attendee wore a dress and mask with Clinton’s face while holding an upside-down Trump doll in a Captain America costume. Several Clinton protestors were around the area, but cleared out as the event began.
U.S. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, who is running against Sen. John McCain this November, spoke before Obama and said she believes Arizona will have its first woman senator in Arizona and the first woman president of the United States this November.
“Together up and down the ticket in Arizona, Democrats are going to win,” Kirkpatrick said. “We’re going to make history.”
A new survey revealed that Clinton is leading by five points in Arizona, a traditionally red state that hasn’t gone blue since Bill Clinton in 1996.
When asked what he thinks of Arizona possibly being a swing state in the upcoming election, Steve Rohl of Phoenix said that “it could be good for the character of Arizona, which presently is the land of intolerance.”
Obama finished the speech by pointing out that President Barack Obama lost Arizona by about 200,000 votes, or around 63 votes per precinct.
“If you just look around this room, each of you has the power to swing an entire precinct and win this election for Hillary,” Obama said.
Sule Ozev came to the rally from Ahwatukee to support Clinton and said she thinks Arizona going blue will help the state stand out.
“I think ideas here aren’t that discussed and we go in one extreme,” Ozey said. “It’s good to pull to pull it toward to middle, even if you’re a conservative, it’s a good thing for Arizona.”
Early voting in Arizona will continue until Nov. 4 with election day coming soon after on Nov. 8.
