CHICAGO (WBBM) – US Senate Candidate Alexi Giannoulias was out stumping for votes Wednesday morning ahead of a fundraiser with First Lady Michelle Obama today.

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The Giannoulias campaign was working the commuter crowd, with the candidate shaking hands outside a Metra stop in the Loop a little before 8am.

At 3:30, Michelle Obama will headline a fundraiser for Giannoulias at the University Club of Chicago. Tickets range from $500 to $10,000 dollars.

President Obama made a similar pitch during a trip to Chicago last week. Giannoulias says he’s grateful, regardless if some read into the visits as a help for a struggling campaign.

Giannoulias says when the President wasn’t coming, people wondered if Obama was avoiding him. Now, he says people wondering if the President is coming too much.

This is the First Lady’s first fundraising trip since President Obama’s election and included a trip to Wisconsin.

Vice President Joe Biden was in Chicago stumping for Pat Quinn yesterday. Giannoulias says the increased presence of the White House is due to difficult political climate for democrats even in recently blue state Illinois.