Obama Joins Campaign Trail in Democrats’ Final Push Before Elections

Former President Barack Obama spent Saturday in New Jersey and Virginia, urging Democrats to vote for their party’s gubernatorial candidates.

He said Tuesday’s electoral contests are a test of values and governance. He campaigned with Rep. Mikie Sherrill in Newark and Abigail Spanberger in Norfolk.

At the Newark rally, Obama told supporters, “In three days, we’ve got the chance to elect a leader who’s going to help build a better, stronger, brighter future for New Jersey.”

He added, “our country and our politics are in a pretty dark place right now,” and pressed attendees to make voting plans using a familiar line: “You can’t boo. You’ve got to vote.”

In Norfolk, Obama made a similar appeal for the future of Virginia, describing Spanberger as “a workhorse, not a show horse” who “will do the right thing.”

Across both events, Obama criticized President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress, accusing them of “lawlessness,” “recklessness,” and of focusing on “distractions” instead of affordability, schools, and health care.

The stump visits come as Democrats lean on a late get-out-the-vote effort in the two governors’ races and other down-ballot contests. Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Ken Martin said last week in a national organizing call that the committee is “all hands on deck,” with more than $7 million invested across key battleground states. That includes about $3.2 million each in New Jersey and Virginia to fund organizing, ads, and voter contact operations.

The DNC’s final-weekend phone bank—launched Oct. 30—featured both Sherrill and Spanberger, as well as several senators and governors, signaling how central the two races have become for national Democrats. “Organizing is the lifeblood of the Democratic Party,” Martin told volunteers on the call, urging supporters to “finish strong” heading into Election Day.

Affordability has been a central issue in the cycle, with Democrats in high-profile races—among them Sherrill in New Jersey and Zohran Mamdani in New York City—emphasizing costs for housing, energy, food, and health care while the GOP defends its record of governance. In Virginia, Spanberger has run on her national-security background and bipartisan record.

Obama’s late push underscored Democrats’ reliance on high turnout in both states, which lean blue but have seen closer margins since 2024. “So, if you believe in that better story of America, you cannot sit this one out,” he told supporters. “As citizens, you have to vote for leaders like Mikie, you have to grab your family members. Tell them to go out and vote.”

Both races are being closely watched in this off-year election, where no federal offices are on the ballot, but several high-profile contests could signal national political trends.

Virginia voters will choose a new governor to replace Glenn Youngkin, with Spanberger leading in most polls over Republican candidate Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears. In New Jersey, Sherrill faces a tight race against Republican businessman Jack Ciattarelli, who narrowly lost the governorship race in 2021. Polls show Sherrill holding a one-point lead.

Republican National Committee Chairman Joe Gruters said the GOP has been preparing for months to compete in both states.

“Listen, we’ve been on the ground in both Virginia and New Jersey for the last 7 months preparing for these last couple of days in terms of our get-out-the-vote efforts, in terms of election integrity, in terms of recruiting numerous attorneys on the ground, numerous poll workers, poll watchers,” he said on Fox News on Saturday.

“What you’ve seen just in the last couple of days is the president and all of our Republican forces have put even more money behind our efforts to turn out our votes because that’s what it’s going to come down to. We have to have Republicans show up on Election Day if our candidates are going to have a chance.”