Obama in Philadelphia: Get out and vote (for Tom Wolf)

With Pennsylvania’s gubernatorial election two days away, Democratic challenger Tom Wolf has enlisted the help of President Barack Obama in a final push to unseat Republican Governor Tom Corbett.

While Wolf is the frontrunner in Pennsylvania’s gubernatorial race — the most recent poll, by Muhlenberg College, has Wolf up by 12 points over Corbett — both he and Obama stressed the importance of education and voter turnout at a campaign rally on Sunday at Temple University.

“You all have to vote. That is what this comes down to. You have got to vote,” Obama said. “If you believe that our kids should have the best schools, then you have got to vote for it. If you think that we should make it easier for young people to go to college without adding up the tens or thousands, you have got to vote for it.”

“This election is about education,” Wolf said. “Did you know that here in Pennsylvania, we have a constitutional promise that every child will receive a thorough and sufficient education? We need to make sure that we follow through on that promise by fully and fairly funding our schools.”

Philadelphia schools have experienced recent funding woes, as the school district has tried to close an $81 million funding gap to maintain its current budget.

“If we want schools that are fully and fairly funded, you will have to vote,” Wolf added.

Along with Obama and Wolf, Senator Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter — a 1979 Wharton graduate — and Senator Mike Stack (D-Pa.) , who is running for lieutenant governor, all spoke about jobs, education and voter turnout.

While the crowd met Mayor Nutter with some boos, the event was mostly positive, with live performances, dancing and several “vote!” chants.

“My mom is a teacher and I went to public school, so education was something that really resonated with me,” said College sophomore Peter Herbst, who registered to vote in Pennsylvania after coming to Penn. “It’s a social responsibility to vote and participate in government, and I think this really played upon that in a positive way with a vibe that was youthful and energetic and hopeful.”

Obama, who has remained relatively distant from many Democratic candidates this election cycle due to his low polling numbers, has begun to hit the campaign trail as midterm elections approach. This week, he has also campaigned on behalf of Democrats running for office in Wisconsin, Maine, Rhode Island, Michigan and Connecticut.

Highlighted by large V-O-T-E letters passed out by Wolf’s campaign and held up by supporters, high voter turnout in Philadelphia is key for Wolf’s election bid. Although Obama is unpopular in many parts of the state, he remains very popular in Philadelphia, where he won 85 percent of the vote in 2012.

“I think more than anything else, I hope they refresh the young voters and be conscientious of the fact that the vote is needed,” said 49-year-old Shabazz Williams who was born and raised in Philadelphia and plans to vote for Tom Wolf.

While Williams expressed his support for Obama, he also conveyed disappointment. “We get so frustrated so fast. The minority community [has] not been rewarded as voters,” he said.

Nonetheless, he remains optimistic about the future. “A lot of us deal with a lot of hopelessness, so hopefully we can somehow gather this energy to continue to vote,” Williams added.

Correction: Due to an editing error, a previous version of this article online misspelled Philadelphia.

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