ORONO, Maine — First lady Michelle Obama will be in Maine Friday afternoon to campaign for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mike Michaud. The event will be held at the University of Maine’s Collins Center for the Arts.
Obama and Michaud will be joined by Planned Parenthood Action Fund President Cecile Richards, whose political action committee endorsed Michaud in August.
Michaud is running against Republican incumbent Gov. Paul LePage and independent candidate Eliot Cutler. A poll conducted by the Portland Press Herald between Sept. 18 and 25 showed Michaud was slightly ahead with 40 percent of the vote. LePage had 38 percent and Cutler had 12 percent.
High-profile Democrats and liberal groups have been rallying around Michaud this election season. In September, Bill Clinton campaigned with Michaud in Portland, where the former president chided Mainers for having let LePage take the race four years earlier.
Vice President Joe Biden toured Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery with Michaud a day later, though the event was not technically called a campaign stop.
LePage was elected to his first term as governor in 2010 in a race many political analysts say he won because Cutler and Democratic candidate Libby Mitchell divided the liberal vote.
The governor also has had visits from high-profile members of his party, including two appearances by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
To go to Friday’s event with Obama, prospective attendees needed to respond no later than Thursday, but it is still possible to sign up to be on a waitlist at michaud.ngpvanhost.com/FirstLady.
The rally starts at 4 p.m. but doors open at 2 p.m.
