Obama will campaign for Democrats in Georgia, Wisconsin and Michigan
Obama will hit the campaign trail to stump for Democrats in ‘targeted’ battleground midterm races in Georgia, Wisconsin and Michigan
- Former President Barack Obama will campaign for Democrats in key battleground races in Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin October 28 and 29
- Hopes to boost gubernatorial and Senate candidates in the days ahead of the 2022 midterm elections
- Obama urged Democrats to focus their energy more on issues that impact voters most directly – like inflation and gas prices – and less on Trump’s antics
- President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will also hit the campaign trail this month
Barack Obama is hitting the campaign trail this month to promote Democratic candidates in some key races that could decide which party controls Congress next year.
The former president is heading to ‘targeted’ battleground states of Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin where he hopes to boost Democratic gubernatorial and Senate candidates who are falling behind in the polls ahead of the midterm elections.
He will promote ‘candidates up and down the ballot, especially in races and states that will have consequences for the administration of 2024 elections,’ according to the release on the trip.
The swing is expected to highlight Democratic accomplishments, but also raise the alarm over the state of American democracy.
Obama has warned his Democratic cohorts to stop focusing on ‘the latest crazy thing’ from former President Donald Trump and focus on issues facing voters – like inflation and gas prices.
Former President Barack Obama will hit the campaign trail this month in Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin to boost gubernatorial and Senate candidates days ahead of the 2022 midterm elections
He also called Democrats ‘buzzkills’ and said rhetoric on the left is causing people to feel like they are ‘walking on eggshells’.
Obama, among the most high profile Democrats, will make his first campaign stump stop in Atlanta, Georgia on October 28.
The Peach State could – like 2020 – again decide which party controls the Senate as Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock faces a challenge from Trump-backed Republican Herschel Walker, the former football star making his first bid for public office.
He will also go to bat for Stacey Abrams, who is taking on Republican Governor Brian Kemp after losing a close race to him in 2018.
The day after his stop in Atlanta, Obama plans to head to the midwest for stops in Detroit, Michigan and Milwaukee, Wisconsin to help ‘get out the vote.’
In Atlanta on October 28, the former president will stump for gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams (right), who is hoping for victory in her rematch with Governor Brian Kemp
Obama will also back Senator Raphael Warnock (left) as he faces a challenge from Trump-backed Republican challenger and former NFL star Herschel Walker (right)
Michigan Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer is running against Republican challenger Tudor Dixon. It’s unlikely Dixon, a former conservative commentator, will unseat Whitmer – even with the backing of Trump.
Voters in Michigan are also deciding on the ballot in November whether to enshrine abortion rights into the state’s constitution.
On the same day as his Michigan stop on October 29, Obama will then hop over to Wisconsin, where Democratic Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes is trying to unseat incumbent Republican Senator Ron Johnson.
In Michigan, Trump will stump for Governor Gretchen Whitmer in her race to keep her seat
If victorious, Barnes would be Wisconsin’s first ever black senator – and the Milwaukee native is trying to mobilize and energize black voters in the race where Johnson is still in the lead.
Obama is also hoping to boost Democratic Governor Tony Evers in Wisconsin as he faces a tight race against Republican Tim Michels, a Trump-backed construction company owner.
Evers and Michels are polling just a few tenths of a percentage point apart with only 23 days until voters head to the polls.
Obama, who in his post-presidency remains one of the most prominent Democratic surrogates, is wary that by hitting the campaign trail he could unintentionally turn out more voters on the right than the left.
He has recently fundraised on both coasts.
It’s all hands on deck ahead of the midterms with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris also traveling the country in the countdown to November 8.
Biden, who is on a West Coast fundraising swing through California and Oregon this weekend, campaigned in Colorado last week with Senator Michael Bennet.
The president will travel to Philadelphia with Harris on October 28, the White House announced on Saturday. The two will fundraise with Pennsylvania Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman in his close race against Trump-backed Dr. Mehmet Oz.
Just days before the midterms, Biden will also travel to Fort Lauderdale, Florida to campaign for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist in his bid to take on Ron DeSantis.
Obama told Democrats to stop obsessing over ‘the latest crazy thing’ Donald Trump does and instead focus their energy on issues that impact voters most directly – like inflation and gas prices.
He offered the advice about Trump, who continues to tease the possibility of running for president again in 2024, during an interview with Pod Save America that aired exclusively on SiriusXM’s Progress Channel Friday night.
Pod Save America is hosted by former Obama staffers Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, Dan Pfeiffer and Tommy Vietor.
‘We spend enormous amounts of time and energy and resources pointing out the latest crazy thing he said, or how rude or mean some of these Republican candidates behaved,’ Obama said.
‘That’s probably not something that in the minds of most voters overrides their basic interests — Can I pay the rent? What are gas prices? How am I dealing with childcare?’
When speaking about Trump, the former Democratic president said: ‘The thing that I think sometimes we seem to make a mistake on is his behavior can be so outrageous. And now, folks who try to copy him and his outrageous behaviors, get a lot of attention. And so we join that game.’
According to the Washington Post, a 2020 poll by Gallup rated Obama as the second most admired man among Americans, just slightly behind Trump and ahead of President Joe Biden.
‘The great thing that I think we have going for us is, is that even with really slim majorities, what we’ve shown is, is that we can deliver,’ Obama on the podcast.
‘You’ve got the Inflation Control Act that has lowered prescription drug prices, has made sure that health care is even more affordable through the ACA, that is looking at lowering energy costs. You’ve got a gun bill that is the first major piece of gun safety legislation that we’ve seen in 30 years.’
Obama, speaking to four of his former employees on the Pod Save America podcast, said that some people within his party need to cool down the temperature and understand that everyone makes mistakes.
He said: ‘Sometimes Democrats are [buzzkills]. Sometimes people just want to not feel as if they are walking on eggshells, and they want some acknowledgment that life is messy and that all of us, at any given moment, can say things the wrong way, make mistakes.’
On the Pod Save American podcast, the former president said: ‘We spend enormous amounts of time and energy and resources pointing out the latest crazy thing he said, or how rude or mean some of these Republican candidates behaved’
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