Barack Obama enters US midterm battleground: Can he help Democrats flip Senate seats in Ohio and Michigan? | Today’s news
Barack Obama will campaign on Saturday with Democratic candidates for the US Senate in Ohio and Michigan, both highly competitive states that will help determine control of the chamber as the former president ramps up his participation in the midterm elections.
Obama’s first event is in Cleveland with former three-term Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, who is seeking to unseat Republican Sen. Jon Husted. Amy Acton, a Democrat running for governor against Republican Vivek Ramaswamy, will also appear at the rally.
Although Ohio has become more reliably Republican, it has been a heated battleground this year.
President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance have visited the state in recent weeks to drum up support for Husted and Ramaswamy.
Obama will then head to a rally in Detroit for Abdul El-Sayed, a former public health official who is trying to unify Michigan’s Democratic base after winning the primary by less than a percentage point. El-Sayed is running against former Republican Mike Rogers.
Obama’s appearance in the city, which is three-quarters black, could bolster support for El-Sayed among black voters. In the primary, his opponent, Haley Stevens, won Wayne County, which includes Detroit, by about 6 percentage points. Former Vice President Kamala Harris, the first black and South Asian vice president, campaigned for El-Sayed in September.
El-Sayed criticized Obama after his 2012 re-election for failing to keep all of his progressive campaign promises, writing that Obama “wasn’t the right choice — he just wasn’t the wrong one.”
El-Sayed told reporters earlier this month that he appreciates the former president, calling him “fundamental” to his ability to run for office, but there are still elements of Obama’s presidency with which he disagrees.
“It’s normal to love somebody, really appreciate everything they’ve done and say, ‘Look, here are some things I would have done differently,'” El-Sayed said. “But they still did some important things to create an opportunity for you.
El-Sayed spoke to Obama by phone shortly after his victory in the primary in August.
Michigan also has open races for governor, attorney general and secretary of state. Jocelyn Benson, the Democratic candidate for governor, is expected to appear with others on the ballot. Benson is running against Republican Rep. John James.
Obama will headline a rally in Georgia next week with Sen. Jon Ossoff and gubernatorial candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms. Trump is scheduled to speak in Georgia on Saturday.
Barack Obama
