More than 7,500 Barack Obama supporters flooded the Downtown Mall Wednesday afternoon to see the president speak at the nTelos Wireless Pavilion. Obama covered a breadth of campaign issues, including the economy, his signature health care bill, the war in Afghanistan and gay marriage in a speech meant to appeal to the same kinds of young voters who in 2008 flocked to the polls in large numbers to propel him to victory.
“I want to speak to the young people here,” Obama said. “I know that when you get into that voting booth, the decision you will make will affect the next decades … you gotta vote.”
Among the speakers who preceded Obama were former Rep. Tom Perriello, D-Virginia, and former Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine. Kaine is currently running against Republican George Allen in the highly competitive Virginia Senate race.
Fourth-Year College student Mathias Wondwosen was chosen to introduce the president. He met Obama backstage before the event.
“He was so calm and relaxed and made me feel very relaxed,” Wondwosen said. “[He] took all the burden out of trying to create conversation and did it all himself actually.”
Virginia is a major swing state in the presidential election with 13 electoral college votes, University Center for Politics spokesperson Geoff Skelley said.
“Virginia was the closest race for Obama with the narrowest margin of victory,” Skelley said. “It was a bellwether in 2008.”
Pundits say population growth in Fairfax County and other regions in northern Virginia will give the Democrats a fighting chance come election time.
“Northern Virginia was one-third of the vote in 2008 and tends to vote democratic,” Skelley said. “We are looking at three counties in Virginia to decide the election: Henrico, Louden, and Prince William.”
Obama’s stop in Charlottesville occured as the Republicans continued hosting their national convention in Tampa, Fla. The latest Gallup poll on the presidential race shows 46 percent of Americans supporting Mitt Romney and 47 percent throwing their weight behind Obama.
Romney may be benefiting from momentum generated by the Republican National Convention, Skelley said.
“The way conventions work, they boost the political party hosting it,” he said. “Mitt Romney gets a bounce from the convention in Tampa, and Obama will get a boost from the convention in Charlotte. The poll will then even out towards election day.”
University College Republicans President Christopher Wertman said he thinks that this initial bump is only the beginning for Romney.
“I think that we will see Romney pull ahead in the coming weeks and stay there as election day draws near,” Wertman said.
Obama focused on outlining the differences between himself and Romney, particularly on social issues, but by focusing on social issues rather than the economy the president could be trying to secure the Democratic base in the historically blue Charlottesville, Skelley said.
“Obama wants to focus on the economy but seems to be focusing on what we would call ‘red meat’ issues for dyed-in-the-wool liberal voters in Charlottesville, issues like gay marriage, restrictions on voting,” he said. “Younger voters tend to be the least conservative socially.”
Aware of the largely college-age crowd he faced, Obama also spoke at length about college tuition and federal education grants.
“I think that we should help more Americans go to college like the one you go to,” Obama said. “But we also need to help Americans go to more community colleges … we shouldn’t be making it harder for young people. We should be making it easier. Education is not just a right; it’s an economic necessity.”
Given the number of undecided voters in this election, getting already-decided voters to the polls is crucial for both sides this year, Skelley said.
And Virginia could be the best example of this fact. As the president said Wednesday afternoon, “If we win Virginia, then we will win this election.”
— Operations Manager Greg Lewis contributed to this story.
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