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Nov. 3, 2018 / 4:01 PM GMT
By Dartunorro Clark
First lady Melania Trump on Saturday urged voters to back President Donald Trump to “help prove that the Democrats and media are wrong” in a fundraising email before Election Day.
“Democrats and the opposition media are doing everything they possibly can to discredit Donald with false accusations by spreading their fake news and making it appear that he does not have the support of America’s voter,” she said in the email, which was sent by the Republican National Committee.
“This is a battle we must win together. I’m asking you and other Americans across the country to personally register your support and help prove that the Democrats and media are wrong.”
The first lady has largely steered clear of politics during the midterms.
The first lady has used her platform to create her “Be Best” campaign, which includes issues such as bullying on social media, the opioid epidemic and children’s “emotional, social, and physical well-being.”
She also took a five-day trip in October to several African nations promote child welfare issues, such as education, drug addiction, hunger poverty and disease, in her first extended solo international mission.
GIULIANI HITS THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL
Rudy Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer, campaigned in Indiana on Saturday for Republican Senate candidate Mike Braun.
Giuliani touted a strong economy under Trump and urged voters to “send Democrats a message” by backing Braun to protect the president’s economic policies.
“We don’t want their kind of politics, we don’t want their kind of mob justice,” he said in Indianapolis. “We don’t want to go back to high unemployment and very few jobs and no raises for people.”
Giuliani added, “They want to put Schumer in charge of the Senate, and then we’ll have Pelosi in charge of the House.”
Braun is running against Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly. The candidates are running neck-and-neck, according to a new NBC News/Marist poll of the state. Donnelly gets support from 48 percent of likely voters, while Braun gets 46 percent; 7 percent are undecided or prefer someone else.
In his pitch to voters, Giuliani said Democrats want to impeach Trump and Supreme Court justice Brett Kavanaugh if they get majorities in the House and Senate.
“So if you make a mistake…and you don’t vote for (Braun), that’s what you’re voting for,” he said.
NBC chance encounter with Sessions
As Trump prepared to speak to supporters in Bozeman, Montana, NBC News spotted Attorney General Jeff Sessions making a personal visit to the White House.
NBC News White House correspondent Geoff Bennett encountered Sessions with his family in the White House briefing room. Sessions said he brought his children and 10 grandchildren for a visit.
Three Secret Service agents looked on as several of Sessions’ grandchildren took turns posing for pictures behind the press secretary’s lectern.
When Bennett suggested it was a good day to visit while the president was on the road, Sessions simply smiled. The Attorney General did not offer any details about his future within the administration. Several sources close to Sessions have told NBC they expect President Trump to fire him after the midterm elections.
UPDATE: EARLY VOTING
Three days out from Election Day, more than 32 million votes have been counted as early or absentee in the 2018 midterm elections nationwide as of Saturday, according to TargetSmart.
Here are the total votes counted by state:
- Arizona: 1,399,414
- Florida: 4,004,471
- Georgia: 2,069,735
- Indiana: 513,420
- Montana: 277,718
- Nevada: 547,511
- Tennessee: 1,366,135
- Texas: 5,364,596
Shaquille Brewster reported from Indianapolis, Indiana, and Geoff Bennett from Washington, D.C.
Shaquille Brewster and Geoff Bennett contributed.