Local politicians and Democratic Party officials spoke ahead of a visit from Chelsea Clinton at the Cleary Alumni Center on the UW-La Crosse campus Tuesday, Oct. 25. State Senator Jennifer Shilling, currently in a tight race to keep her seat from her opponent Dan Kapanke, and Congressman Ron Kind were among those addressing a room of students and community members alike. Before introducing Hillary Clinton’s daughter, they each expressed why they thought voting in this election is as vital as ever if citizens wanted to see Hillary Clinton in the White House. “As the sign says,” said Shilling, “we are stronger together, we are better together, and we are in this together.”

Each of the candidates seized an opportunity to discuss Hillary Clinton’s opponent ahead of her daughter’s visit as well. “My gallon of milk has something in common with Donald Trump,” joked Shilling, “they both expire November 8.” The two also took the time to focus on the local contests happening in Wisconsin, like Shilling’s tight race as well as Russ Feingold’s shot for the U.S. Senate. However, the main focus of the event was to discuss Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Kind referred to his experience in service with Hillary Clinton and called her a “fighter.” “Being first is hard,” the Congressman admitted of Clinton’s historical run for Commander in Chief, “we saw that with Obama and now we’re seeing it with Hillary Clinton.”

“I think this is the most consequential election of my lifetime,” said Chelsea Clinton once she took the stage. She cited feeling this way for two reasons: her identity as a parent of two kids and the fear that issues most important to her are at risk. According to Clinton, it wasn’t just policies that would be at risk, but that she believed our core values as a country would be at risk with this election. “I never thought I would see, in my lifetime, almost normalization of hate speech from a major party’s presidential candidate,” said Clinton. After Clinton also stressed the importance of voting and endorsing her mother as President, she also encouraged Wisconsinites to take advantage of early voting. Upon this remark, Clinton admitted she was a bit jealous of the early voting system, as her home of New York does not have that option and, therefore, those in attendance would have the chance to vote for Hillary Clinton before she would.

The event finished by giving attendees the opportunity to ask Chelsea Clinton questions, or share comments and stories about her mom. Sofia, 10, asked how the daughter of the Democratic nominee would react if Hillary Clinton were to win the election. “Probably just a massive bear hug,” said Clinton, “I couldn’t imagine a better grandmother for my kids and I couldn’t imagine a better President for our country.” After answering questions about finding common ground with Republicans, college affordability and the Affordable Care Act, Clinton thanked the audience and encouraged everyone to vote November 8.