On the final weekend day before Tuesday's midterms, President Joe Biden traveled not to a battleground state, but to the Democratic stronghold of New York to stump for incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul, who is attempting to stave off a tough Republican challenger.

Biden, who campaigned for Democrats in Illinois and Pennsylvania the day before, sought to contrast Hochul from her challenger, U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin, who is hoping to pull off an upset and become the first Republican to win a statewide race in nearly two decades.

"This election isn't a referendum, it's a choice," Biden said. "It's a choice between two fundamentally different visions of America," slamming Zeldin for his stances on abortion rights and gun safety.

The president touted the jobs recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and successful coronavirus vaccination campaign, as well as two key parts of his economic agenda, his bipartisan infrastructure law and the CHIPS and Science Act – the latter of which is credited for bringing major investments to New York state, including a $100 billion investment from Micron in a Syracuse suburb, and IBM's $20 billion plant in Poughkeepsie.

Biden also made it very clear to the crowd that Zeldin voted against the bills, while praising Hochul as a partner: "This couldn't have happened without your governor, I mean that sincerely."

Despite the fact that the number of registered Democrats vastly eclipse the Republicans in the Empire State, recent polls have shown the race tightening as some voters express concerns over the economy and crime.

Introducing Biden, Hochul praised the president for his efforts to deliver major investments from IBM and Micron –  the latter of which she called "the largest private sector investment in our state's history" –  to New York.

"He's here tonight because he knows there's no place better in the entire United America than New York," Hochul said. "Who doesn't want to come to New York? Of course he's here. This is the greatest place to be, so don't question why someone wants to come to New York. Everybody wants to come to New York!"

Biden warned that country is at an "inflection point" when it comes to the future of American democracy and referenced the recent attack on Paul Pelosi, the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

"There has never been a time in my career when we've glorified violence based on a political basis," Biden said as he decried some of the Republican responses to the attack.

"We all know in our bones, that our democracy is at risk," Biden said, adding: "We know that this is your generation's moment to defend it to preserve it, to choose it. I want you to know that, we'll meet this moment."

Biden said hundreds of Republican candidates for state, federal and local office are “election deniers, who say that I did not win the election, even though hundreds of attempts to challenge that have all failed, even in Republican courts.”

"There are only two outcomes for any election: either they win or they were cheated," Biden said of those who deny the results of the election.

Both officials urged the gathered students at Sarah Lawrence College to vote before Tuesday's midterms draw to a close.

"You're the best educated, you're the least prejudiced, and the most engaged," Biden told the students. "You're the most involved generation in American history. And you look at all the polling data: If you all show up and vote, democracy is sustained. Not a joke ... it matters. It's in your hands."

"We all need your votes," Hochul said. "And all I know is one thing: When Democrats turn out to vote in the state of New York, we win. It's that simple. That's all we need to do."

Biden was far from the only high-profile Democratic figure to stump for Hochul in recent days: Vice President Kamala Harris and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton rallied for the incumbent at Barnard College on Thursday.

"Everything is on the line,” Harris warned, adding: "We’re going to need people in the state house and at local levels who have the courage to stand up and push back against what is happening. In that way, who is your governor matters."

“The thing about Kathy Hochul is she has shown you who she is,” the vice president continued. “She has shown you what she cares about. She has shown you how hard she will work for the people of New York. And I believe that when you know what you stand for, you know what to fight for.”

“This election is a choice,” Clinton said. "Not just betwaeen two candidates, but between two very different ideas about who we are as a state and as a country.”

“The Republicans make no secret about what they want, they actually say the quiet part out loud,” she added. “And Lee Zeldin and the Republicans, along with Trump and their allies, are literally fighting tooth and nail to turn back the clock. Of course they want to turn back the clock on abortion. They’ve spent 50 years trying to make that happen.”

Clinton’s husband, former President Bill Clinton, appeared in Brooklyn at a rally for Hochul on Saturday, warning of “enormous consequences” should Democrats lose control of Congress.

The Associated Press