On the eve of Election Day, Republican Vice Presidential Nominee Mike Pence addressed a crowd of over 500 potential voters at Behrend’s Junker Center in his last solo stump speech before joining Donald Trump in New Hampshire later in the evening.

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Prospective attendees to Governor Pence’s rally arrived on campus as early as 1 p.m. for the Hoosier’s planned appearance at 4 p.m. The line to enter Junker Center quickly grew and stretched beyond Smith Chapel at one point.

         

Governor Pence’s address did not stray at all from the Trump campaign’s main policies and stances that they have held throughout the 2016 Presidential Campaign. Governor Pence vocalized “Christian-first” mentality and stressed fighting ISIS, bad foreign trade deals, Obamacare, and most of all Democratic Presidential Nominee Hillary Clinton – which arguably yielded the largest roars and most sign waving from the crowd.

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With less than 24 hours remaining until voting begins and with Trump trailing by a slim margin in Pennsylvania, Governor Pence urged his event’s attendees to not just vote but bring a friend.

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“Friends don’t let friends vote alone,” Pence said.

 

Governor Pence not only asked audience members for their votes on the Presidential ballot. He also pressed audience members to reelect Senator Pat Toomey and Congressmen Mike Kelley and Glenn Thompson – both of whom were in attendance to support Pence, who they worked alongside in the United States House of Representatives – as a part of the Republican Party’s efforts to regain a majority in Congress.

 

Among those in the audience who Governor Pence addressed was 23-year-old Behrend student John Kogler of Bethel Park.

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“I am a very big Trump supporter. I have been since he started running. I saw Trump last night in Pittsburgh, and now I’m here to see Pence,” said Kogler.

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As a Pennsylvania native, Kogler recognized that his home state is a must-win for the Trump campaign.

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“I think that they think that this [Erie] is a hotspot. PA is up for grabs. They are hoping to win PA, and it would be very big tomorrow [if they did win],” said Kogler.

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Immigration was a main issue of interest for Kogler and many other attendees at the Governor Pence event, including 53-year-old Dannette Beebe of Erie.

 

“My biggest issue is actually with borders,” said Beebe. “I don’t mind immigration. I love immigrants. I have a lot of friends that were immigrants, but we need to come and do it the right way. We are a nation of laws, and I want to keep those laws. Every country is based on borders. Not just America, but every country has borders – that’s what makes a country.”

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Like Kogler, Tyler Gates, a 19-year-old Behrend student from Titusville, PA, also saw a previous rally from the Trump campaign. Gates saw Trump’s August rally in Erie at the Erie Insurance Arena. On Monday, Gates was pleased when Pence addressed his most dire concern of “bringing jobs back to America.”

 

Another individual whose main concern was jobs was 44-year-old Erie native Michael Lesak, who actively engaged with nearly every passerby he encountered near the Lion shrine on Monday afternoon.

 

“If there’s no opportunity for jobs, then people start doing bad things,” said Lesak. ”So if they have opportunity, advancement, and education, I think the world becomes better. And, I think that he’s worked all his life, Donald Trump. He has that drive to be successful, and that’s what we need.”

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Lesak, like many Trump supporters in attendance, were optimistic about the outcome of the results on Election Day.

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“I really do believe that tomorrow he’s going to be victorious because people want to work, people want to be able to have opportunities. And, it will happen because he’s had everything in his whole life, so nothing really interests him except for the profit margin. And, if he’s driven by that I think we’re really going to prosper.”