Hillary Clinton in Cincinnati: 'Go ahead, look at' the emails

"Go ahead: Look at them," Hillary Clinton said Monday evening in Cincinnati, of additional emails the FBI is reviewing related to her private server – a revelation that has thrown the presidential election into turmoil days before the election.

"I made a mistake. I'm not making any excuses," Clinton said, referencing the server she maintained as secretary of state. After investigating, the FBI director called Clinton's treatment of classified material "extremely careless," but did not recommend prosecution.

Now that the bureau is reviewing emails from a staffer's laptop. "I know they’ll reach the same conclusion they reached when they looked at my emails last year," Clinton said Monday. "It wasn’t even a close call. And I think most people have moved on."

The Democratic presidential candidate returned to Ohio eight days before the Nov. 8 election. She is locked in a tight battle in the swing state with Republican Donald Trump, according to a rolling average of state polls. No Republican has reached the White House without winning Ohio, and no Democrat since 1960. Clinton, who has trailed Trump by a few points in Ohio over the past few months, has led nationally, but is seeking to fire up and reassure supporters after the FBI's announcement Friday.

Supporters in Cincinnati indicated Clinton's defense was working.

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“It was politically timed," Rabbi Tom Friedmann, 65, of Montgomery said of the FBI's announcement. "If anything, it’s strengthened my support of Hillary. There is no other choice.”

"It's politically motivated, the timing of it, and with no explanation of it, it’s all just politically motivated," said Darlene Bonta, 65, of Oxford.

Clinton’s sustained lead nationally and the lack of excitement she engenders among Democrats present a challenge for her campaign, as it seeks to turn people out to vote – especially early.

“There is no doubt: If we vote, we win," Clinton told a fire marshal-estimated crowd of 2,800 gathered in Smale Riverfront Park.

Democrats in 2012 used early voting to build up an insurmountable lead before Election Day. Many of the people The Enquirer interviewed at Clinton’s rally indicated they have already voted.

“[Hillary] is the face of the future," said Isaias Gamboa, 53, of College Hill. On the email controversy: "It’s like a gnat. Just shoo it away.”

The Hillary Clinton emails: What we know, and what we don't

Clinton is seeking to refocus the race after Friday's announcement from FBI Director James Comey. The bureau, he said, is reviewing emails that could be related to its former investigation of Clinton's private email server. The political world erupted, with Democrats insisting he had overstepped his bounds and Republicans – including Trump – warning Clinton once again could face indictment.

The FBI appears to be focused on a laptop belonging to Anthony Weiner, the disgraced former congressman and the estranged husband of longtime Clinton aide Huma Abedin. It's unclear whether the material on the device was from Clinton. It's also not known if the emails in question are new or duplicates of the thousands the former secretary of state and her aides have already turned over.

After addressing the emails, Clinton joined other speakers in casting the election in almost apocalyptic terms. She asked supporters: Imagine if they don’t vote, and Trump is elected? “The American dream itself is at stake,” she said.

Then Clinton focused on gun control. She was joined at the rally by former Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and her husband, retired astronaut Mark Kelly.

“Think about the difference between electing a president who will do nothing and a president who will tackle the epidemic of gun violence in America,” Clinton said.

Giffords was nearly assassinated by a gun-wielding assailant in 2011 and is an outspoken advocate for stronger gun control policies – policies Clinton champions.

Charles Blades, Rebecca Huff and the Associated Press contributed to this report.