Hours before the two presumptive nominees were slated to hit the debate stage for the first time in the 2024 presidential race, First Lady Jill Biden stopped in Virginia Beach on her way to Atlanta to support her husband, President Joe Biden.

“You all know that there’s two visions for America and you’ll see them tonight when you watch the debate,” she told the crowd that had gathered inside of the Biden-Harris campaign office in Virginia Beach for a sign-making event.

“You’ve already chosen your vision, or you wouldn’t be here,” she said to the crowd of Biden supporters. “The vision you’ve chosen is for strong, steady leadership versus the other vision, which is chaos and corruption.”

Earlier, another crowd had gathered near the entrance to parking lot of the strip mall where the campaign office was held. They wore red hats with “make America great again” embroidered on them, held signs in support of former President Donald Trump, the GOP presumptive nominee, and wore shirts with slogans on them like “Joe and the hoe got to go.”

The First Lady’s visit, announced Tuesday, underscores Virginia’s standing as a battleground state during the 2024 presidential election. Her visit came after Trump had announced his plan on Saturday to visit Chesapeake for a campaign rally on the day after the first presidential debate.

“I want you, tonight when you see them debating, I want you to hear Joe’s words but most of all, I want you to listen to his heart,” the First Lady said, as she rallied the group to help get out the vote efforts in the largely active and retired military community.

The pro-Trump demonstration had cleared out of the area by the time the First Lady left in her motorcade.

Democratic voters on the pending debate

Barbara Nesbitt, a retired teacher, said she is happy there won’t be an audience at tonight’s debate.

“It won’t be such a clown show,” she said. She’s a little nervous, ahead of the 2024 rematch in November, but she said she hopes Biden wins overwhelmingly. “To let them know we’re not stupid in America,” she said.

Maurice Hawkins, a Democratic voter in Virginia Beach, noted that the commonwealth has voted for a Democratic president since 2008, when former President Barack Obama won his first term in office. The last Democratic presidential nominee to win in Virginia before Obama was former President Lyndon B. Johnson. Biden won Virginia by 10 points over Trump in 2020.

“In Virginia, we know that we’re a battle ground state, year-in, year-out. All our races are tight. This area is going to be a strategic region in regards to voter turnout, to determine how Virginia will go out,” he said, referring to the Hampton Roads region – which includes both Virginia Beach and Chesapeake.

Sandra Brandt, chair of the Second Congressional District Democratic Party, said she feels confident Biden will perform well in the debate.

“I feel good, I think the president has been looking at all of the issues,” she said. “I think he’ll do an excellent job.”

She noted that the Democratic Party has a lot of work ahead, between June and November, but she feels confident in Biden’s chances of winning the election.

“Tonight will be historic,” Charles Stanton, 69, chair of the Norfolk City Democratic Party said, in the parking lot of the strip mall after the event had wrapped.

He called himself an “optimist on America” and said he hoped the 10% or 15% of undecided voters will shift to the Democratic camp after the debate.

“We are going to have one candidate on the stage with a historic record of accomplishment and another candidate on the stage with a historic record of being indicted 88 times, convicted 34 times,” he said. “It’s just not a choice, I mean it truly is decency versus debauchery.”