Hillary Clinton is hitting the campaign trail with rapper Jay Z on Friday in a last ditch push to turn out African-American voters in Ohio.
The Democratic nominee has struggled to boost turn out among black voters during early voting in the key battleground state, marking a potentially bruising setback for the Clinton campaign.
To win Ohio over her Republican opponent Donald Trump, Clinton needs African-Americans to turnout at levels similar to those reached during President Obama's 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.
In an attempt to improve current numbers, Clinton will appear alongside Jay Z at a get-out-the-vote concert on the predominantly African-American east side of Cleveland. Beyoncé is also expected to make an appearance, CBS News reported.
Clinton's difficulties have helped Trump maintain a 2.7-point lead in the state, according to the Real Clear Politics average of polls. Based on current numbers, Trump must win Ohio and Florida in order to secure the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the presidency.
Clinton has also struggled to court black voters in key states like Florida and North Carolina.
More than 25 percent of those expected to vote nationwide have already cast their ballot, and while Clinton has a slight edge over Trump, her campaign remains concerned with the close tally, the Daily Mail reported.
The numbers also fall far short of where Obama was in 2012 at the same stage of the campaign. The president was comfortably ahead of his Republican challenger, Mitt Romney, in the days leading up to Election Day.
The Clinton campaign has attributed the lag to an "enthusiasm gap," particularly among black voters.
Obama said Wednesday in a radio interview that "the African-American vote right now is not as solid as it needs to be." The president campaigned for Clinton in Florida on Thursday in a last-minute blitz to turnout voters for the Democratic nominee.