This year's election is 'more important than any in my lifetime,' says Obama
Former President Barack Obama is sticking to one message this midterm season: Just vote.
Speaking at a Las Vegas rally for Democrats on the Nevada ballot on Monday, Obama was particularly focused on Nevada's tight Senate race between incumbent Sen. Dean Heller (R) and Rep. Jacky Rosen (D). The latest polls show Heller an average of just 1.7 points over Rosen, per RealClearPolitics, and the race is vital for Democrats' hope of flipping the Senate this fall.
But Obama also emphasized the importance of down-ballot races. "If all it took was being president, shoot, I would've solved everything," he said. Democrats "overcomplicate stuff" instead of just telling people to vote across the board, Obama insisted. But "staying home would be profoundly dangerous for our country" in an election year that's "more important than any in my lifetime."
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Obama's rally came just two days after President Trump campaigned for Heller in Nevada, and on the same night that Trump is stumping for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) in Houston. When Obama mentioned Republican leaders in Congress, it elicited boos from the audience. That prompted what has become Obama's signature rallying cry: "Don't boo, vote." Obama repeatedly chanted the mantra with the audience. Watch the moment below. Kathryn Krawczyk
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Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
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