A regal American flag hung from a fire truck to signal that the former vice president of the United States, Joe Biden, was at the Machinists’ District 9 office to campaign for Sen. Claire McCaskill. People driving by on St. Charles Rock Road could tell that the Get Out the vote rally, in support of McCaskill, was going on.

On Wednesday Oct. 31, after standing in a line that wrapped around the entire parking lot, supporters of the rally walked into an upbeat atmosphere with live music performed by the Fabulous Motown Revue, who McCaskill calls her “good luck charm.”

The Machinists District 9 office was packed in tight with people jamming out to the hits that the Fabulous Motown Revue were playing, such as Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing.”

SLU sophomore and SGA arts and sciences senator, Sarah Jones, had her mother send her the money for an Uber because she was so excited to see Biden speak.

“I am ready for both Claire McCaskill and Joe Biden to talk with some hope after this really terrible weekend,” Jones said. “I feel pretty deflated just because it’s a really sad place that I think our country is in right now. So, I’m excited to see some optimism.”

The music continued before the politicians stepped up. The usual St. Louis Blues national anthem singer, Charles Glenn, lent his voice to the rally, when he sang his St. Louis-known rendition of the national anthem to kick off the event.

The first speaker to come to the stage was Cort Vanostran, who is running for Congress against Republican incumbent Ann Wagner in Missouri’s 2nd District. As Vanostran stepped to the mic, he was met with a syncopated chant of “Cort, Cort, Cort…”

Vanostran estimated that if those in attendance work hard in the next five days then the Democrats will flip that seat.

Next to the stage was Wesley Bell, who in the August midterm primary ended Democrat Robert McCulloch’s 28 years as St. Louis County’s prosecuting attorney. There were no Republicans in the race, solidifying that Bell will win given that he’s running unopposed on Tuesday, Nov. 6.

“No one outworks Claire McCaskill,” Bell said. “We have to make sure that we show up, and we show out on Nov. 6 so that we make sure that we have someone fighting for us.”

McCaskill was met with enthusiastic chants when it was her turn at the mic. She called Vanostran and Bell her “two bright stars.”

“I know this is not about me,” McCaskill said. “This is about every one of you. It’s about a fight worth fighting and a battle worth winning, I’m so glad all of you are in it with me.”

With her time on stage, McCaskill urged attendees to bring friends with them to the polls to get them to vote. She left the remaining time to Biden.

“We are in a battle for America’s soul,” Biden said.

Biden spoke of character as a huge selling point for politicians. He believes that the U.S. is in need of people in office with character.

“It’s our job to send Claire back to the senate because God, it needs her,” Biden said. “Other people look at her and they follow her example. They look at her courage. They see her stand up in a Democratic caucus and make her case. People listen to her.”

After spending time in the hospital himself and watching his son Beau in the hospital for two years, Biden is extremely passionate about health care.

Healthcare is also a huge concern for Jones. “I’m a 19 year-old with a pre-existing health condition,” Jones said.

“If they keep the House and Senate they will emasculate medicare,” Biden said. “That’s why we need Claire and Cort.”

“The only thing strong enough to tear America apart is America itself,” Biden concluded. “And we must make it stop now.”