Obama the ‘campaign closer’ for Democrats in top 2025 elections as party aims to rebound
As the 2025 election cycle heats up, former President Barack Obama is making a significant return to the campaign trail, aiming to bolster Democratic candidates in crucial races across the country. With just days to go until Election Day, Obama is set to headline rallies in New Jersey and Virginia, the only states holding gubernatorial elections this year. His appearances come at a pivotal moment for the Democratic Party, which is seeking to regain momentum after facing setbacks in the previous year’s elections. Obama’s advocacy extends beyond just these gubernatorial races; he is also actively supporting California’s Proposition 50, which seeks to return congressional redistricting powers to the Democrat-controlled state legislature. This proposition could potentially create up to five additional Democratic-leaning congressional seats in California, countering Republican-drawn districts in states like Texas and North Carolina.
Obama’s involvement is seen as a strategic move to energize the Democratic base and protect his legacy, particularly his signature achievement, the Affordable Care Act (ACA). By aligning himself with candidates like Rep. Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey and former Rep. Abigail Spanberger in Virginia, Obama hopes to galvanize voters who are concerned about healthcare and other pressing issues. His popularity remains strong; a recent Gallup poll indicated a favorable rating of 59% among Americans, with an impressive 96% approval among Democrats. This makes him a key figure in rallying support for candidates who are striving to reclaim control of the House of Representatives, where Democrats need to flip just three seats to regain a majority.
However, the return of Obama as a prominent campaign figure also highlights concerns within the Democratic Party regarding its leadership and messaging. Critics, including Republican strategists, argue that Obama’s necessity in these races reflects a lack of strong leadership among current Democratic figures. They suggest that the party’s reliance on Obama indicates a significant challenge in establishing a cohesive narrative and a compelling candidate lineup. As the 2025 elections approach, the stakes are high for both parties, with Democrats hoping to leverage Obama’s charisma and experience to turn the tide in their favor, while Republicans aim to maintain their foothold in Congress amidst a politically charged landscape.
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In the final stretch leading up to Election Day 2025, former President
Barack Obama
is everywhere.
From coast to coast, the former president is hoping to help push fellow Democrats over the finish line in the most high-profile and consequential ballot box showdowns this year as his party aims to rebound following last year’s election setbacks.
On Saturday, with just three days to go until
Election Day
, Obama will headline rallies in New Jersey and Virginia, the only two states holding elections for governor this year.
And last week he weighed in on another crucial ballot box showdown.
HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING ON THE 2025 ELECTIONS
“A lot of us do not believe that politicians should choose their voters, they believe the voters should choose who’s going to represent them. That’s the meaning of democracy,” the former two-term president said as he joined California Gov.
Gavin Newsom
on an organizing call for California’s Proposition 50.
California voters
are deciding whether to pass the proposition, which will give congressional redistricting powers in the left-leaning state back to the Democrat-dominated legislature over the coming years.
The move would likely create up to five more blue-leaning
U.S. House seats
in the nation’s most populous state, and counter new maps drawn in GOP-dominated Texas, Missouri, and North Carolina that will likely create up to seven Republican-leaning districts.
FIVE KEY RACES TO WATCH ON ELECTION DAY 2025
It’s part of a broad effort by the GOP to pad its razor-thin House majority to keep control of the chamber in the midterms, when the party in power traditionally faces political headwinds and loses seats. Democrats need a pickup of just three seats to win back control of the House.
President
Donald Trump
and his political team are aiming to prevent what happened during his first term in the White House when Democrats reclaimed the House majority in the 2018 midterm elections.
Obama argued that the Trump-led effort by Republicans across the country is “brazen.”
“The problem that we are seeing right now is that our current president and his administration is explicitly saying that we want to change the rules of the game mid-stream in order to insulate ourselves from the people’s judgment,” the former president said as he joined Newsom.
Obama, who is appearing in
“Yes on 50” TV ads
, said that passing the proposition in California would give Democrats “a chance, at least, to create a level playing field in the upcoming midterm elections.”
BATTLE FOR GOVERNOR IN THIS CLOSELY WATCHED RACE MAY BE HEADED FOR A PHOTO FINISH
The former president is also appearing in ads in
New Jersey
for Democratic gubernatorial nominee Rep. Mikie Sherrill, who’s locked in a close contest with GOP rival Jack Ciattarelli in the race to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat.
And he’s starring in spots for former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee
in Virginia
, who’s facing off against Republican rival Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears in the showdown to succeed term-limited GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
For Democrats, who are aiming to escape the political wilderness after losing control of the White House and Senate majority and falling short in winning back the House last year, the 2025 ballot box showdowns are their first major shot at redemption, and they hope that Obama’s two-state swing will energize their base voters.
But for the former president, whose crowning domestic achievement — the Affordable Care Act, which is better known as Obamacare — is front-and-center in the current federal government shutdown and a top issue on the 2025 campaign trail, his return to the campaign trail is also about protecting his legacy.
“President Obama reminds us what we can accomplish when we leaders are unafraid to take on big challenges to deliver,” Sherrill said in a statement. “He led historic efforts to insure millions of Americans and lower healthcare costs.”
Obama is often referred to as the Democrats’ campaign closer as they point to his recurring role since leaving office nine years ago as the party’s most effective campaign trail communicator.
According to a
Gallup poll
conducted in January, Obama had a 59% favorable rating among Americans, higher than any other living former president. And among Democrats, his favorable rating stood at an astronomical 96%.
“He’s the best communicator of our generation. The pathway back lies largely in meeting people where they are, and President Obama showed in his two election victories that he can do that,” seasoned Democratic strategist Joe Caiazzo told Fox News Digital.
But Erin Maguire, a veteran Republican strategist and communicator who served in top communications positions for then-House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy, for Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign, and later led communications for Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, disagrees.
“It shows what a vacuum of leadership there is in the Democrat Party that Obama has to be the closer here,” she emphasized.
Pointing to Trump’s come-from-behind 2016 White House victory, Maguire argued “there was a complete rejection of the Obama era when Donald Trump was elected to office. . . . For Democrats, this just shows what a monumental mess their whole party is that Obama has to be the strongest voice on any of these races.”
Eric
Eric is a seasoned journalist covering US Politics news.
