With less than a month before the midterm elections, President Barack Obama traveled to Chicago Thursday to try to keep his old Senate seat in Democratic hands, headlining two fund-raising events for Illinois U.S. Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias.
Big applause greeted the president as he arrived at the Drake Hotel, with people in the crowd saying, "welcome home" and "long time no see."
Obama told the crowd he wanted them to be fired up for the election and then went on to deliver practically the same speech he gave at Bowie State University in Maryland earlier in the day. He said the success of the mission to make change is at stake.
In his latest version of the car-in-the-ditch analogy, the president said Republicans are fanning themselves as they sip their Slurpees, while the Democrats work in the heat to get the car out. To Republicans, he said: "You can join us. You can hop in the back seat."
Later he reminded the crowd that "whether they get the keys back is ultimately up to you."
After the event, Obama headed to the home of Leslie Bluhm, president of Chicago Cares Inc., a nonprofit volunteer service organization, for a private fund-raising dinner.
A Giannoulias spokesman said the two events together were expected to raise more than $750,000, to be split between the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Cmmittree and the Giannoulias campaign.
Giannoulias, the state treasurer and a longtime Obama friend, faces a tight race against Republican Rep. Mark Kirk for the Senate seat that Obama held before his run for the White House.
Earlier Thursday, Obama was in Maryland to boost the campaign of Gov. Martin O'Malley. He urged a crowd of thousands of young voters to stay energized.
"I hope you're ready to fight," Obama told thousands gathered at Bowie State University. "There's an election coming up. It's going to say a lot about the future — your future, but also the future of the country."
A Washington Post poll published Wednesday gave O'Malley an 11-point lead over his Republican opponent, former Gov. Robert Erlich Jr.
The crowded venue and warm temperatures caused about three dozen people in the audience to faint or become dizzy.
Prince George's County Fire and EMS spokesman Mark Brady said EMS personnel treated the people and transported two of them to hospitals. He said ralliers were standing shoulder to shoulder in the sun — temperatures were in the 70s — and most of the people experiencing problems were senior citizens.
