NEW YORK, NY July 16, 2009 —President Obama is in the area today. He's addressing the NAACP convention, and he's hoping his popularity rubs off on some local politicians. WNYC's Arun Venugopal has more.

REPORTER: President Obama will first head to the town of Holmdel, New Jersey. There he'll be stumping for Governor Jon Corzine, a Democrat who's hoping to be re-elected, but is way behind in the polls to Republican Chris Christie. The president's will also attend a Corzine fundraiser with just 200 attendees, but which is expected to raise over a million dollars.

In the evening, the president will arrive in midtown Manhattan, where he'll deliver the closing remarks to the NAACP at its 100th anniversary convention. The organization has been at the forefront of many of the biggest civil rights advances of the last century, but this year, many delegates say their main interest is in simply showing the president that they've got his back.

The president will be accompanied by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who addressed the NAACP earlier this week and introduced Sonia Sotomayor at her confirmation hearings. These events are likely to enhance Gillibrand's profile as she fights to hold on to her senate seat. For WNYC, I'm Arun Venugopal.