Even as the media has basically declared the presidential race in Ohio a shoe-in for Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton teamed up with LeBron James on Sunday in hopes of scoring a comeback victory in the state.
Appearing onstage with the Democratic nominee and teammate J.R. Smith, James said that voting this year “really, really matters.”
LeBron James campaigns for Hillary Clinton: Our vote matters, “it really, really does.†We have to get out and vote https://t.co/JVtekml65L
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) November 6, 2016
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James said:
I grew up in an inner-city and I know the whole notion of getting out and voting. I was one of those kids and I was around a community that was like “our vote doesn’t matter,” but it really does. It really, really does. We have to get out and make sure we vote. We have to get out and be knowledgeable about what’s going on … This woman right here has the brightest future for our world.
The four-time MVP also called Clinton the candidate best suited to make children’s “dreams become a reality.”
Video:
.@KingJames says @HillaryClinton will help with his goal of making kids’ “dreams become a reality.” https://t.co/h5MsP1JiV1
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) November 6, 2016
The big rally in Cleveland came just after FBI Director James Comey issued a second letter claiming that the bureau found no Clinton wrongdoing with respect to her emails as Secretary of State. It also comes as Democrats feel a renewed sense of optimism about their chances of pulling the state into their column on Nov. 8.
New polling just released today out of Ohio shows that the race is a virtual tie, with one Columbus Dispatch poll – the most accurate in the Buckeye State in 2012 – showing Clinton ahead by a single point.
LeBron James’ appearance with Clinton on Sunday is likely an attempt to mobilize African-American voters in the Democratic stronghold of Ohio’s Cuyahoga County. If he can help run up the score there and Clinton’s superior ground game manages to add a couple points to her level of support, there is a good chance Clinton can pull an upset and carry Ohio’s 18 electoral votes on Tuesday.
As LeBron James knows more than anyone, a championship series – or a presidential election – isn’t over until it’s over. The race in Ohio is by no means a done deal, and the momentum is with Hillary Clinton.
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
