Former President Bill Clinton spoke to about 300 supporters Wednesday morning in a seven-city swing across eastern North Carolina.

“People like you and towns like this have brought Hillary as far as she is in this campaign,” Clinton told the crowd.

The former president has been focusing on small town appearances rather than larger cities like Raleigh or Fayetteville in his support of his wife’s presidential campaign. His stop at Apex’s community center was the first of the day.

Sporting a bright pink necktie, Clinton spoke for about 45 minutes about the economy, healthcare and the war in Iraq.

“These are big jobs for the next president,” Clinton said. “And a lot of these decisions need to be made in the first year.”

Clinton said that as president, his wife would create 3 million jobs improving roads and sewer systems across the country. “This is something you can do in every small town in the country,” he said. “You can’t out source any of those jobs.”

Supporters began lining up outside the Apex Community Center just before 5:30 a.m. for the 7:45 a.m. speech, which actually began about an hour late.

“This is a big deal,” said Brenda Nelson, an Apex resident who was first in line.

Nelson said she supports Hillary Clinton for president “100 percent.”

“Not only because I like her but i want to see history made,” Nelson said “It’s very important for women.”

Temperatures were in the mid-30s when Nelson arrived, but she and her friends weren’t bothered by it.

“We’re not cold, we’re too excited,” she said.

Adults sipping coffee and children wrapped in blankets wound their way in line down the side of the building waiting for doors to open.

Hillary supporter and Cary resident Edie Pierce said she was excited to see the former president, but that she was really there at the insistence of her mother, who was a big supporter of Bill Clinton during his presidency.

“My mother has a picture of him in her house,” Pierce said.

“Mary Green loves Bill Clinton,” piped in Pierce’s husband Tony. “She says, ‘Bill Clinton, bless his heart.’”

During his speech, Clinton encouraged those in attendance to vote in the May 6 primary, and to have their friends do the same.

“If you vote for her, you’ll elect a president,” Clinton said. “I’m honored to be here for the person my daughter said would be a better president than me. And I’ll tell you, I agree with my daughter.”