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Speaking to a crowd of roughly 7,500 in downtown Richmond on Thursday night, former President Barack Obama urged Virginians to “reach out for hope, not fear” by supporting Democrat Ralph Northam for governor in an election now less than three weeks away.

In his first day back on the campaign trail since leaving the White House, Obama cast Virginia’s governor’s race in national terms, saying the state has an opportunity to “send a message all across this great country” by electing Northam, who is the current lieutenant governor, and the rest of the party’s ticket on Nov. 7.

“America is a story of progress. Ralph Northam wants progress. He wants to take us forward, not backward. He wants to reach out for hope, not fear,” Obama said in a speech that lasted a little over half an hour in an exhibition hall at the Greater Richmond Convention Center. “We need you to take this seriously. Because our democracy is at stake. And it’s at stake right here in Virginia.”

The former president avoided any direct mention of President Donald Trump, but offered an overarching critique of politics based on fear and division, a strategy Obama said is playing out in the gubernatorial campaign of Republican Ed Gillespie.