Obama Campaigns with Democratic Nominees in Virginia and New Jersey Ahead of Elections

Strategic Insights -

Former President Barack Obama urged voters to break with President Donald Trump and "set a glorious example for the nation" on Saturday as he campaigned with the Democratic nominees for governor in Virginia and New Jersey ahead of Tuesday's elections. In a series of rallies, Obama delivered a closing message in the final days of elections that will serve as a temperature check on Trump's first year and set the stage for next year's midterms. Obama's appearances underscored his status as the Democratic Party's most powerful surrogate, delivering high-profile endorsements and warnings about the damage being wrought to the country by President Trump.

Key Takeaways:

  • Obama urged voters to break with President Trump and "set a glorious example for the nation," saying that elections do matter and that we all have more power than we think.
  • In his first rally of the day, Obama spoke in Norfolk, Virginia, where he attacked Trump's policies and behavior, saying that they have weakened basic democratic rules and norms.
  • Obama criticized Trump's replacement of career prosecutors with loyalists at the Justice Department, his "shambolic tariff policy," and said that the White House every day delivers "lawlessness and recklessness and mean-spiritedness and just plain craziness."
  • In New Jersey, Obama endorsed Rep. Mikie Sherrill, the Democrat who is taking on GOP former state lawmaker Jack Ciattarelli in the governor's race.
  • Obama called Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for mayor in New York City, before heading out to the rallies on Saturday, offering to be a "sounding board" for his campaign.
  • Obama has slowly ramped up his involvement in both gubernatorial elections, cutting ads for both candidates that began airing in mid-October.
  • Obama's appearances on the final weekend of two of 2025's most important contests underscore the importance of the Virginia and New Jersey governor's races, which are being closely watched as an indicator of the nation's political mood.

Statistics:

  • 7,000-seat arena in Norfolk, Virginia was near capacity when Obama spoke.
  • Obama's appearances have ramped up in the final days of the election.
  • Obama has cut ads for both Sherrill and Spanberger that began airing in mid-October.
  • 4 years ago, Republican Glenn Youngkin won the Virginia governor race.
  • The same public polls that found Youngkin had been consistent in showing Sherrill with a single-digit edge over Ciattarelli.

Sources:

  • CNN
  • Former President Barack Obama
  • CNN's Arlette Saenz, Eva McKend, Eric Fiegel, Edward-Isaac Dovere, and Dalia Abdelwahab contributed to this report.