By Aaron Feldstein

For The Diamondback

For the second time in a week, the Maryland Democratic candidate for governor stopped in College Park to ask constituents for their vote in November.

Ben Jealous (D) was met with wild cheers and applause at Cornerstone Grill and Loft on Wednesday, just four days after he and longtime friend, comedian Dave Chappelle, hosted a campaign event at the University of Maryland.

This time, Jealous was flanked by U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) to urge young voters, like the ones that packed the bar, to exercise their civic duty in November and carry Jealous to victory.

“Ben Jealous is the better candidate,” Booker said confidently.

Considered a future leader of the national Democratic party and a potential 2020 presidential candidate, Booker endorsed Jealous last year. He made it clear on Wednesday that Jealous needs a strong turnout to have a chance to win next month.

“The opposite of justice is not injustice — it’s apathy, it’s indifference and inaction,” Booker said to the predominantly college-aged crowd. “If you’re upset … fight for Ben Jealous.”

[Read more: Bernie Sanders encourages UMD students to “revitalize American democracy”]

Despite receiving endorsements from other national Democratic leaders such as Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and former President Barack Obama, polls have shown the former NAACP president trailing popular incumbent Gov. Larry Hogan since winning the Democratic primary in June.

A recent University of Maryland-Washington Post survey found Jealous is down 20 percentage points against Hogan among likely voters with less than a month until election day on Nov. 6.

Jealous has been badly outspent by Hogan, who boasts a formidable campaign war chest and has hammered his Democratic foe with attack ads. But Jealous didn’t sound too worried about that on Wednesday.

“Organized people can beat organized money every time,” Jealous said. “If we turn out our neighbors, there’s no way we can lose in November. … [Republicans] only win when we don’t turn out.”

Early voting in Maryland begins Oct. 25.

[Read more: A UMD coalition has registered about 300 voters so far this school year]

UMD College Democrats hosted the rally with Chappelle on Saturday. Their president, Sydney Poretsky, said their biggest goal is to help Jealous win the election.

Jealous represents the change Maryland needs, said Poretsky, a senior communication and Spanish major. She likened Hogan to Chris Christie, whose second term as New Jersey’s governor was marred by scandal.

“If Hogan has a second term, you’ll see his true colors come out,” Poretsky said.

Aisha Braveboy, the Democratic candidate for Prince George’s County state’s attorney, also stumped for Jealous at Cornerstone. She lauded him on his efforts to help end the death penalty in Maryland in 2013 while criticizing Hogan for not speaking out against President Trump.

“We can’t have a governor who doesn’t stand up to Donald Trump,” Braveboy said.

Derrick Portillo, a senior economics major, said he attended the rally to support Jealous because of his promises to increase school funding and protect immigrants and the environment.

“He was the leader of the NAACP. He’s made a lot of contributions to this state,” Portillo said. “He is a businessman as well and created a ton of jobs for this state, and I just know that he would make a great governor.”

Jealous has proposed a progressive agenda, from legalizing and taxing recreational marijuana for adults, implementing universal health care and using the savings from reducing Maryland’s prison population to fund tuition-free college.

These promises have invigorated young voters like Mahmud Cole, a freshman public health science major, who was inspired by Jealous’ words and said he appreciates him speaking directly to college students like him.

“We are the future,” Cole said with a smile.

Wednesdays are typically popular at Cornerstone. From 10 p.m. to midnight, the bar has a $1.50 special on “rails” — mixed drinks made with liquor from the bottom shelf — and students who arrive early enough and show their university ID can get in without paying cover.

So it was little surprise to see a line stretching around the block prior to the rally’s 6:30 start time, and to have the bar packed for Jealous and Booker’s appearance.

“What’s better to get into the College Park spirit on a Wednesday night,” Poretsky said, “than have an event at rails?”

CORRECTION: Due to an editing error, a previous version of the caption on this story incorrectly referred to the bar as Cornerstone Grill and Bar. Its name is Cornerstone Grill and Loft. The caption has been updated.