Michelle Obama to start campaign tour

First Lady Michelle Obama will hit the campaign trail Wednesday, kicking off a tour to help embattled Democratic candidates — including the one who wants her husband’s old Senate seat.

But while President Obama and his team are aiming hard shots at Republicans in the run-up to the November midterm election, the first lady’s team plans a softer, more upbeat approach as she appears on behalf of Illinois Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias.

“As a self-described mom in chief, my first priority in the White House has been making sure that my girls are happy and healthy and adjusting to this new life,” reads an advance copy of her public remarks. “My hopes for their future are at the heart of every single thing I do. And that’s really why I’m here today.”

Michelle Obama’s favorability ratings in polls are higher than her husband’s, and Democratic candidates in races all over the country ask for her, according to White House aides. Her campaigning on her husband’s behalf was so effective that she earned the nickname “the closer.”

The first lady will appear Wednesday at a fundraiser in Milwaukee for Sen. Russell D. Feingold, followed by events in Chicago for Giannoulias, Illinois Reps. Debbie Halvorson and Bill Foster, and House candidate Dan Seals.

From there, she will spend a week traveling to Colorado, Connecticut, New York, Washington state and California for House and Senate candidates.

Over the weekend, she is to appear with the president in Ohio, the first time they’ve campaigned together since 2008.

One of those functions will be a large rally in Columbus, expected to draw heavily on two crucial voter groups for Democrats — young people and African Americans.

Aides said Michelle Obama’s role in the closing days of the campaign would be similar to that in 2008, when she avoided partisan talk and stuck to a positive message.

“She’s going to go out and make a positive and affirmative case for the candidates that she’s campaigning on behalf of, and the steps that the administration has taken over the past two years,” said White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs. “She’s obviously very effective.”

Administration officials said the first lady intended to speak on the authority of her role as a parent.

“As I travel around this country, and look into the eyes of every single child I meet, I see what’s at stake,” her prepared remarks say. “That’s how I see the world. And I think that’s how most folks see the world.”

cparsons@latimes.com