Sherrod Brown promoted his candidacy for U.S. senate yesterday in the Kiva. KATIE ROUPE | DAILY KENT STATER

Credit: Jason Hall

Adam Brody said that there are just so many issues in the upcoming election that he cares about that he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to come and speak at Kent State on Saturday.

“I feel like he’s a personal representative I can get behind,” Brody said.

The actor from “The OC” came to speak in support of Sherrod Brown, Ohio Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate. Brown and Brody joined Luke Perry, an actor from “Beverly Hills, 90210,” state Sen. Marc Dann, Rep. Tim Ryan and Connie Schultz, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Kent State alumna and columnist for The Plain Dealer.

About 500 people filled the Kiva.

“I’m absolutely ecstatic with the turnout,” said Donovan Hill, vice president of the KSU College Democrats.

People lined the back and sides of the room to hear Brown speak as part of his four-day tour of 11 Ohio colleges and universities, which ended at Ohio University yesterday.

“I think it was a great event,” said Amy Groya, Undergraduate Student Senate senator for governmental affairs. “It was a great turnout.”

The event was co-sponsored by the College Democrats, Black United Students and the Kent State chapter of the NAACP.

After the event, Brown said he feels it is important to reach out to college students because he said his opponent, Sen. Mike DeWine, has “sided with giving tax breaks to the wealthy,” instead of trying to provide lower tuition for students.

He added that this election is as “important as (students) want it to be.”

“I want Ohio’s young people to stay in Ohio,” he said.

Brown also discussed having a “whole different White House” in 2009 and creating jobs in Ohio.

He also challenged the crowd to convince friends to vote this November.

“There are going to be two headlines in every paper,” Brown said. “‘Democrats win in House and Senate’ and ‘Ohio turns blue.'”

Contact student politics reporter Kali Price at [email protected].