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CEDAR RAPIDS, Ia (KWWL) – The former Vice President Joe Biden had a message to Democrats to "take back the country" during a stop in Cedar Rapids. Biden was in town Tuesday night to Abby Finkenaeur and Fred Hubbell, one week out of the election.
The Iowa Democratic party held an early vote rally inside the Veterans Memorial Coliseum, where Biden spoke, and over 1,200 people attended, according to the party.
Biden was the last to take the stage where he spoke for a half hour. He began his speech in the Pittsburgh synagogue to bombs being sent to officials, including himself. Biden called for a change in light of the events.
"Folks, we need to recognize that words matter. Our political opponents are not our enemies. They are our opponents. We are Americans, "he said.
Biden said with hate on the rise in the country, the 2018 election is different. He said he will continue to grow if things do not change.
"Silence is complicity. Well, folks, we will not be silent, "he shouted. "We will not be complicit. We must speak to urge our republic This has to stop. It has to stop. "
Biden said the job of Democrats this election is to "restore dignity in the country".
"The only thing strong enough to tear America apart is America itself and we've seen it start and we must make it stop. That's what Tuesday is all about, "he said. "We have to make it clear as Democrats we thing hope over fear. We choose unity over division. "
Biden's stop in Cedar Rapids comes with the potential of a 2020 presidential bid. That's a decision he's expected to make following the midterms so he's behind his support behind Finkenauer and Hubbell. Finkenauer was a volunteer on Biden's 2007 campaign.
"I tell you what [Finkenauer] is tough. She's honorable. She's serious, "he said.
Biden said more people with character are needed "like Fred and Abby".
"They have character. They're decent. They're honorable, "he said.
Hubbell, in his speech to the crowd, reversing the privatization of Medicaid, fixing the mental health crisis and improving public education.
"For so many families in Iowa, reversing privatization of Medicaid is a life and death issue," he said. Hubbell said he would be working on a new start.
Hubbell told the crowd he's running for governor "because I can not stand by and watch our state get run into the ground".
For Finkenauer, she said it was the stripping of collective bargaining that pushed her to run. She said she was going to be there.
Finkenauer, who spoke ahead of Biden, said the 2018 election comes down to values over party.
"Are we people who are doing this?" She said. "I tell you what, the Iowa that I grew up in, the country that I grew up in, we stick for each other every single time. Who is who we are. "
Ahead of Tuesday night's rally, Lt. Governor Adam Gregg and the Republican party held a news conference of their own in Hiawatha. Gregg called the rally featuring Biden has "rescue mission".
Biden was previously reported to be in the forefront of the midterms because of the chances that he may run for 2020.
Gregg claims that the Democrats needed extra help with election day just one week away.
"It's definitely a mission they have to go to. The bottom line is that the message of raising taxes on Iowa families is falling completely flat, "he said.
The full stream of the rally can be viewed below.
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